The Scars of Fate
by Dragon-Tooth
Summary: Ryou & Bakura’s story. Ryou had saved him, now he was alone. The past holds a crushing weight, one that Bakura knows well. However, after 8 years passing since Atemu left, the thief is forced to confront all his demons... when one Yugi Muto vanishes.
1. Inside of Me

**The Scars of Fate  
**_Chapter One: Inside of Me _

'Ello 'ello. Welcome to my post-series production that will most likely claim the remainder of my sanity and, hopefully, your own as well. Join the Dark Side - we have cookies... and issues. Lots and lots of issues. XD

Speaking of darkness, we also have the lovely Bakuras. If you have even a shred of interest in Ryou Bakura or Yami Bakura or even the mysterious thief that once was - then you were as disappointed as the rest of us white hair fans with the ending of the YGO series. I mean, lets face it, a piece of paper had more dimension than Ryou did in the anime. No character development once or ever. Then the main group didn't even acknowledge the pain of the thief's past. Talk about a slap in the face.

Anyway, this is Bakura's story, and therefore Ryou's. It begins at the end of the series from the eyes of our deranged tomb robber himself and, through marching into the future, we learn of their pasts piece by piece. The main story starts later on in this chapter, eight years after Atemu left.

There are going to be quite a few pairings in this, but most are either one-sided or come on gradually. In any case, no one has to worry about love at first sight because that is SO NOT happening. If you happen to like that sort of cuddly-fuzzy-wuzzy-thing... meh, deal with it. What sort of pairings am I considering? Good question. If I told you, I'd probably scare you off. XP Just give me a chance here, alrighty? Go with the flow and don't worry about the relationships part (that for ME to worry about XD), just focus on the story itself.

In any case, I owe a HUGE thank you to the lovely _**Hakurei Ryuu **_who puts up with my idiotic behavior and absurd obsessions. She's my beta as well as my best friend! Love ya, hun! As for the rest of you: go read her stories! They kick royal ass! :D

**WARNING:** Not for those of the faint of heart. Rated for **intense violence, gore, swearing, angst **and **death.** Don't like that sort of thing? Then you're in the wrong fanfic, hun!

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, quite obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't have to be writing this!!!

* * *

**Somewhere I Belong **_By: Linkin Park_

When this began I had nothing to say  
And I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me  
(I was confused)  
And I let it all out to find that  
I'm not the only person with these things in mind  
(Inside of me)  
but all the vacancy the words revealed  
Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel  
(Nothing to lose)  
Just stuck, hollow and alone  
And the fault is my own  
And the fault is my own

I want to heal, I want to feel  
What I thought was never real  
I want to let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I want to heal, I want to feel  
Like I'm close to something real.  
I want to find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong

And I've got nothing to say  
I cant believe I didn't fall right down on my face  
(I was confused)  
Looking everywhere only to find that it's  
Not the way I had imagined it all in my mind.  
(So what am I)  
What do I have but negativity  
Cause I cant justify the way everyone is looking at me  
(Nothing to lose)  
Nothing to gain, hollow and alone  
And the fault is my own  
And the fault is my own

I want to heal, I want to feel  
What I thought was never real  
I want to let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I want to heal, I want to feel  
Like I'm close to something real  
I want to find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong

I will never know  
Myself until I do this on my own  
And I will never feel  
Anything else until my wounds are healed  
I will never be  
Anything 'til I break away from me  
And I will break away  
I'll find myself today

I want to heal, I want to feel  
What I thought was never real  
I want to let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I want to heal, I want to feel  
Like I'm close to something real  
I want to find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong

I want to heal, I want to feel like  
I'm somewhere I belong  
I want to heal, I want to feel like  
I'm somewhere I belong  
Somewhere I belong

* * *

_Agony tore through him, dragging him back into the darkness - into oblivion - but he ripped himself free and pulled forward. Weakly, the single soul - nearly shredded - staggered towards his last hope of escaping this place, this Hell. He had so very little time left, he could feel it. Any second now the great door would open... and, when it shut again, he wasn't sure if he would stand any chance at all after that. _

_Gripping his stinging side that trickled blood over his fingers, he gritted his teeth in stain as he dragged himself the last few steps... before collapsing to his knees at the very edge of the Shadow Realm. Sweat mixing with the blood over his face, he lifted his tired gaze of gray to the scene depicted before him - the world given a black tinge to its colour with thanks to the barrier that separated them. _

"My name... is Atemu!"

_The spirit's eyes flew wide at the voice, trying to focus his blurred vision on the figures that were scattered throughout the chamber. Then he saw him... standing before the great doors that were beginning to take a brilliant glow._

"_Atemu!" Face strained, the soul hit the barrier with his fist, only to cringe and wish he hadn't as pain sparked from the shattered bones in his hand. Clutching his mangled hand to his chest, he bit his lip 'til it bled to combat the pain."...Wait." He lifted his eyes to the royal before placing his good hand against the barrier. "You locked a human in here, Atemu. Do you even realize that?" Joints turning white, he drew his nails down the wall that separated that world from this one. "I'm not a demon, dammit! Do you hear me, you bastard?! I'M HUMAN!"_

"_And what a pity that is."_

_Without even thinking, the spirit flung himself to one side... and out of the way of a massive clawed hand. Fear filled every feature on his face as he looked up into a gaze of blood red that stared back at him with malice glee. _

"_N-No..." He breathed, only to then growl. "Leave me alone, you piece of shit!"_

_The creature cackled. "Always were a hot-head, weren't you, fool?"_

_White hair plastered to his head with the blood that already stained most of his form, the spirit sneered, "you were the one who were calling the shots! You lost, not me!"_

"_And, prey tell, how many times did you disobey me in those years, __**Bakura**__?"_

"_It was my existence! I could do whatever the hell I wanted!"_

_Suddenly, an arm shot from the Shadows, its sharp claws piercing through the spirit's weak form before slamming him back into the barrier, pinning him even as a scream of pure agony tore from his throat. Biting down on his tongue to stop his own admission of feeling, Bakura clamped his eyes shut against the pain... against this creature... Zork._

"_Wrong, Bakura. We made a deal. Don't you __**remember**__?" Moving forward, the beast pushed the human back further - the magic that kept them in this place of darkness crackling angrily - as he leaned down into the ancient thief's face. Grinning coldly with sharp teeth, the monster basked in the pain he could bring onto his old puppet. "You were supposed to free me in exchange for me helping you get your revenge. I helped you get into the palace, I helped you get the Ring, I helped you_ _**retain **__your memory... and what did I get in return? Over three thousand years of __**waiting**__!"_

_Entire body limp, Bakura did all he could to just keep that mask of stone over his features. Zork blamed him, blamed him for everything... but, once he had gotten his hands on the Ring in the past, everything had gone wrong. He hadn't signed up for this... this isn't what he had wanted..._

_A shudder past through the thief's body, a blessing numbness canceling out some of the pain. "...T-This... was y-your fault. The M-Memory World w-was your Game... and y-you screwed it up." Head slouched down against his chest, a brittle smirk worked its way onto his split lips. "Atemu beat you, you son of a bitch... s-so go to Hell." _

_His world blurred for a split second... then his body jolted as he hit the ground and rolled like a rag-doll across the damp shadows of the Realm. When he finally came to a stop, he couldn't hold back the groan that trickled from his throat as pain surged through his system like an electric current - paralyzing every thought... every action... every hope. But there would be no death for him. This place will tear him apart piece by piece - every demon taking its turn - and then he would be put back together... only to be torn apart again. This place was for punishment... death wasn't allowed for those cast into the abyss._

_))I... I can't do it.(( His brow twitched wildly with the strain he was using to keep his eyes shut. He didn't want to see this place. ))...I can't do this again!((_

"_You always were weak." Zork snorted, only for a twisted grin to spread across its lips. "...Scream for me, Bakura."_

_A spasm drove through the thief's form, agony tearing through his chest like a million knives. Entire body trembling, he bit down on his tongue as his back arched against the pain that bristled through him - using every bit of strength he had to not give what the other wanted. Blood poured into his mouth, choking him, as his bones began to crack beneath his flesh... but he refused to give in. He couldn't... he wouldn't... he just..._

_Zork chuckled darkly. "Don't make his dull for me, thief."_

_And with that several sickening cracks split the air... followed shortly by a gut-wrenching scream that tore into every crevice of the Shadow Realm._

A boy of white hair suddenly stiffened - the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as a shiver ran down his spine. Eyes wide, he glanced to those around him to see if they too had heard what he had... but they all looked indifferent, unaware. They spoke to the Pharaoh who was hesitating in the light, listening to the words of his closest friends before he took his final rest.

Ryou bit his lip, willing himself to believe that he was imagining things... but he had never been very good at denial.

((Bakura.))

"_Now that's more like it."_

_The thief whimpered as the agony dimmed ever so slightly... and he felt that much more disgusted with himself. What was he, anyway? A pathetic worm. Worthless. Gutless. Useless. He'd failed at everything he had ever done - he failed his own people - and, now, he was a play thing for a bunch of half-wit demons. How could he let himself become __**this**__?!_

"_Let's have another, shall we?"_

_((Bakura.))_

_The thief's eyes flashed wide. ))R-Ryou?((_

_His ribs shattered as the energy suddenly returned, spurring another scream from his raw throat as the bones in his limbs began to follow suit. One by one they broke to pieces until tears ran in almost as great of torrents as the blood that coated the floor._

_))R-Ryou?!(( He screamed through his mind-link, desperately reaching for the boy that not a second ago had spoken his name. ))Ryou, please! Please, answer me! R-Ryou! P-Please, I–!(( _

The boy shuddered, his face as pale as a sheet. His stomach flew in loops, threatening to rid him of whatever was still in his system. The screams tore through his mind, pulling tears to his eyes at just the sound of it alone. What was happening to make his darkness cry out like that? What were the Shadows doing to him?

Pleads reached through from their mind-link - faint and broken - but he didn't reply to them. He couldn't. Whatever was happening to his other half... it was his punishment to bear.

))R-Ryou...!(( The faint scream came from the darkness, its call barely touching through a mind-link that nearly didn't exist anymore. ))R-Ryou, pl-please... r-reach back to me! B-By the Gods, Ryou, I... I'm b-begging you... h-help me...((

Ryou clamped his eyes shut, hands balling at his sides so tightly he could feel his nails digging into his palm. He couldn't help him. His yami has done enough damage in this world... he had to stay in the Shadow Realm. There was no other way. For everything he had done... he deserved everything the Shadows gave him.

((I...)) Ryou's thoughts stumbled, but he forced himself to say what he knew to be the right thing: ((I won't help you. You... you've hurt enough people.))

_Blood red eyes glinted in delight at the mess at his feet. He didn't even have to lay a finger (or claw) on the idiot to tear him to shreds... he could let his magic do the same job from the inside out. More pain, less trouble. Magic made everything just that convenient._

"_Is my old toy broken already?" A dark chuckle leaked from between sharp teeth. "Come now, Bakura... surely you can take more than __**that**__. We've hardly even __**begun**__."_

_He lay motionless on the ground, his breath shallow and ragged - each and every one ripping agony into him to blend into that which he was already feeling. His eyes stared at the floor beneath him blankly, devoid of everything. Ryou wasn't going to help him and... and, though he wanted to hate the kid for that with every fiber of his soul... he couldn't. _

_You've hurt enough people._

_The words churned within his mind, destroying his hope in one fell swoop. There was no reason for anyone to help him out of here... ever. He had done nothing but hurt people, so they'd be happy with him swallowed into oblivion. They probably wouldn't even think about him again. He'd just be a bad dream to them... while he continued to suffer for each and every one of his crimes..._

_And it was a bloody long list. _

_The kid was right. He'd hurt enough people... and their pain had never done anything to make his own go away. Misery just liked the company, but it always wanted that one more soul before it would be satisfied._

_It was never satisfied._

_He felt himself get pushed over onto his back. ))...R-Ryou...(( A clawed hand cupped his face, turning the thief's stone stare toward that of blood lusting red. ))...Y-You're... right...(( _

"_I thought you liked the pain, Bakura? Didn't you once say that the blood over your skin was like a hot rain? That the pain reminded you that you were alive?" His sharp claws drew down his cheeks until the fingers just held his chin, leaving bleeding gashes down his face. "How does it make you feel now, Bakura?"_

_))...I d-deserve... this...(( _

"_What? No smart-ass remark? No profanity promising my demise? I'm disappointed."_

_))...I... de...serve... t-this...(( _

Ryou's arm flashed up, whipping away the trail of blood that had fallen down his chin from where he was biting his lip. He was right, wasn't he? Keeping Bakura where he was? The spirit had done it to himself. He had sealed his own fate piece by piece... and now he would have to live with it...

((...for all eternity.)) Just the thought alone made a shudder trail down Ryou's spine. He lifted his teary gaze to see Atemu suddenly give a thumbs up - why? He had no idea - and walk forward into the blinding light. ((You've done wrong too, Pharaoh. You made mistakes, you killed people - both before and in this era. So, why do you get delivered into the light after three thousand years while your adversary gets thrown into the darkness?)) Suddenly, a thought broke through the boy's mind, ((he's never been able to come back this quickly... it used to take him months to pull himself out of the Shadow Realm and even then he had Zork's help. How did he reach me so quickly? Why isn't he just taking over like he did before? What's keeping him back?)) Ryou's eyes shot wide. ((Wait... the doors... they opened the gate to the afterlife, didn't they?))

His gaze shot from side to side at the chamber around them, seeing what everyone else was so oblivious too. The Shadow Realm was a hair's width away from merging with this world, darkening the shadows around the underground Shrine to an almost impossible degree. If he looked hard enough, he was certain that he could see figures there in the shadows cast about the room... souls. The Shadow Realm was like a purgatory in a way, stuck between the worlds of life and death...

Ryou's eyes darkened. ((That's why he was able to reach me!))

Opening the doors had brought the Shadow Realm here, so Bakura had been able to claw forward quicker than usual for the sole reason that the open gate was drawing _everything_ here. Every soul and demon was being drawn to this one place because it was a weak point, a fracture in the barrier...

((An open door.)) He cursed lightly. ((But, if opening the door brought the Shadows so close then does that mean that when it closes...?)) The white haired boy jumped as the doors began to slid shut... and, as they did, Ryou could see the Shadows around them churn, struggle, fight... and, yet, slip away. That's when it clicked. ((A seal. He's using the doors as a bloody seal!)) A frown touched his brow. ((This... this can't be right... Pharaoh?)) He chewed his lip. ((You'd be willing to sacrifice him? Do you hate him that much that you don't care if you seal him away with demons? Forever? No rest? No freedom? Just an eternal punishment in a prison of darkness? He's still a human, Atemu!)) His eyes narrowed at the fading image of the ruler. ((You hypocrite. You're sealing him into exactly what you wanted to escape so badly! Bakura...!)) After a second's hesitation, Ryou probed back into his own mind, searching for the familiar feel of their mind-link... and barely finding it at all. ((BAKURA!))

His reply was a ghostly silence and, when he held their mind open with his own strength, he couldn't suppress a gasp from escaping his throat as a trickle of pain started to pour into his mind. Agony sliced at his skull, cutting away his strength both mentally and physically as his knees trembled beneath him. He could feel the agony driving down into him... and the emotions with it.

Envy.

Sorrow.

Hate.

Anger.

Despair.

They all burned within the boy... all of Bakura's emotions. Bakura's pain.

He couldn't do it. Maybe the Pharaoh was willing to condemn him, but Ryou couldn't.

((BAKURA!))

Ryou pushed past the darkness and anguish that tried to choke out the fragments of their mind-link and, as the last shreds of light reached through the crack left in the doorway, the British teen reached for the other half of his soul.

The door slammed shut with a groan, the entire cavern quaking its threat loud and clear as dust poured from the Millennium Stone and it crumbled, sending the Millennium Items into the darkness below. Voices shouted as everyone ran to escape the chamber... and, just like one of the gang, Ryou bolted off with everyone else.

* * *

Ryou had to brush off more than one comment about 'looking pale' on the plane ride home. Mostly, he just listened to his CDs and tried not to look at anyone. He knew he had betrayed them... but what would they say if they knew?

'Are you _**NUTS**_?!'

Well, Joey had always been an easy one to figure out a reaction. Tristan would probably be similar, same with Duke and Tea... but what would Yugi say? Ryou had glanced to the younger teen many times during the flight, careful never to lock eyes in case - somehow - Yugi noticed something was off. What would the boy say? Would he understand? Could he understand? He wasn't sure. Yugi was the kindest person Ryou had ever met but, that being said, he was also very protective of his friends and Bakura did have a habit of... using them to his advantage.

It had been easy enough to slip away from the group once the plane had landed since there was a welcoming committee waiting for their arrival. No one noticed when Ryou disappeared. They never did.

The boy slipped quietly back into his apartment, slumping back against his door once it was shut behind him. Closing his eyes, he sighed heavily as he soaked in the silence of what had become his home over the past years... a silence that felt like true bliss for his throbbing migraine. He pondered for a moment about getting something to eat, only to decide he had another matter to take care of first. Trudging over to the couch, the British boy flopped down onto his stomach and closed his eyes.

He had done this many times, so he knew the process by heart. Bakura had been very demanding when it came to swapping control of the body. Ryou had had to get used to working on the fly - grabbing hold of the body as Bakura slipped back to leave the light to deal with whatever company had interrupted them... usually Yugi or his friends. This time, however, sinking back into his soulroom felt different than it had previous times. It was harder, bringing a frown across his brow, and took more of his concentration to pull off. When his sneakers finally did touch down on stone floor of their corridors, the boy couldn't help but cast a suspicious glance over his shoulder to the darkness behind him.

"Odd."

Turning towards the doors, Ryou walked up and all but ignored his own room - laid out in perfect organization down to the last detail (on the surface at least) - and approached his yami's door. It was solid steel - unlike his own that was made of richly engraved wood - with a jagged appearance that looked as though some creature had mauled it at some point, leaving it scarred and misshapen. It looked far more beaten up than what Ryou remembered and the Eye of Horus - once cut so sharply at the top of the door by the use of what had appeared to be a knife - was now a faded image of what it once had been. If Ryou hadn't already known what the marking was supposed to be, he probably wouldn't have been able to guess now.

He knocked on the door, solid and clear. "Bakura?" He waited a sum of minutes, only to try the knob and find it locked, so he knock again. "Bakura, open up." More minutes past by, making the British boy scowl uncharacteristically - he really didn't want to play these games right now. "Bakura, we need to talk. Now. Open the bloody door." Silence once again greeted him. "Bakura, I mean it!" Letting his frustration take over, he smashed his fist into the door hard enough to shoot pain up his arm, making the door tremble where it stood and then... it slowly creaked open.

His frown deepening, Ryou pushed the door open the rest of the way, letting the light from the hallway attempt to overpower some of the darkness. Though he did hesitate, the boy took a few steps inside the ruins of an ancient chamber... that, now that he looked at it, seemed oddly familiar.

((I know this place from somewhere.)) Then, he wanted to smack himself. ((Of course, I do. It's the Shrine of Kul-Elna.)) He looked around him, slightly studying the parts of the room that he could make out in the darkness. ((...Though it looks in better shape in here... probably because it's what it used to look like three thousand years ago.)) Finally, his lips parted, "Bakura?"

"_Bakura?"_

He jumped as his own voice echoed loudly around the shadows of the soulroom, almost mocking him. Ryou squinted into the darkness, trying to adjust his eyes as he moved further into the room to leave the light from the door behind him. He couldn't even figure out how big this place was since everything was practically bathed in shadows, but he also decided that he didn't care. He was going to find Bakura. They needed to talk and figure out exactly where each of them stood.

"Bakura?" He called, creating another echo to bounce back to him.

"_Bakura?"_

It really was quite annoying. "Bakura, please, answer me."

"_Bakura, please, answer me."_

Ryou had to suppress a groan. The fact he and his dark half shared a name just seemed to make the echoes even more annoying. His distorted voice coming back to him just sounded like some bratty kid mimicking whatever he said. The boy considered shouting out 'moronssaywhat' just for the hell of it, but he quickly let such an immature thought pass right on through him. None of this was helping. He had to find his other half. That's what he had to focus on.

"Look, I'm not leaving until we talk."

"_Look, I'm not leaving until we talk."_

"So, you might as well come out."

"_So, you might as well come out."_

((How the bloody hell does Bakura stay in here with that bloody echo?!))

))...By not speaking out-loud.((

Ryou gasped, jumping out of his skin as his heart nearly seemed to stop dead in his chest. He couldn't help but shiver as his blood suddenly felt ice cold in his veins, his mind freezing up as doubt flashed through his thought. This was so stupid. What was he getting himself into? He had been given the chance to live a normal life - to forget about all of this magical business and head back to London - and he had instead saved the one person who had thrown all the weight upon him in the first place. He had saved Bakura... and why? Even with the Pharaoh gone, Ryou didn't know if the thief was going to let the past go.

What were their lives going to become if he couldn't?

Ryou opened his mouth, only to clamp it shut as Bakura's actual answer occurred to him. Taking a deep breath, the boy glanced around the shadows of his yami's soulroom. ((Where are you?)) He waited for a moment, but his answer was only silence. ((Bakura, where are you?))

))...You shouldn't... be in here.((

The boy bristled. ((Too bloody bad,)) he snapped bitterly. ((I know this probably hurts your pride, but I saved you. Me. Your weak, little host.)) He was expecting some sort of reaction, some sign of anger or disgust... but he was only greeted by the eery stillness of the soulroom around him. ((...Fine. Stay in the shadows, though doing so is fairly ironic if you ask me.))

))...R-Ryou...(( the other almost seemed to have to choke out the name. ))You should... be resting.((

The boy scoffed, the noise mimicked back to him by the echo. ((Why? You want me to leave that badly? Do you hate me that much that you won't even talk to me face to face? Bakura, you're the one that asked me to help you. You're the one who reached out to me first, not the other way around. If you despised sharing a body with me this much than you shouldn't have–))

Finally, a low growl echoed into the room. ))You want to see me that badly? ...Fine. Walk forward.((

((What?))

))Walk forward,(( he repeated, voice cold.

Wary despite himself, Ryou moved farther and farther away from the door until he was engulfed in the full shadows of the room. As he walked, he could just barely begin to make out the alter at the opposite side of the room where the Millennium Stone should have rested... but instead there sat a figure leaning against the far wall. The closer Ryou got, the clearer he seemed to make out his yami... and each step he took made him want to shrink back instead.

Mauled.

Mangled.

Broken.

Whatever the Shadow Realm had done to him, they had not spared an inch of his flesh. He was practically ripped apart. Blood had pooled all around his form across the interlocked-stone floor, running in little red rivers across his pale flesh on its way down. Bones had broken through battered flesh in places, while in others it merely had a sickening bump rising beneath the bruised skin to prove the existence of more shattered bones.

"Bakura," he whispered.

The echo whispered back, _"Bakura."_

Eyes held shut amongst black and blue bruises and bleeding claw marks down his cheeks, the spirit snarled. ))Are you satisfied now, boy?(( He asked bitterly, practically bitting off each word.

Face burdened, Ryou hesitated for a moment, but timidly sat down beside his unmoving dark half. ((What happened to you?)) He asked quietly.

))...Zork.((

Ryou's gaze fell, letting a silence spread between them. So now he knew why the thief hadn't wanted him in here: Bakura - the prideful son of a bitch - hadn't wanted Ryou to see him like this. He hadn't wanted to lose face about being beaten at his own game again... and then having the sole giver of his power turn on him. The thief was well beyond beaten and he knew it... the only reason for his survival being the very boy he had used as a disposable pawn ever since the Ring had found its new bearer.

Ryou's stomach twisted as he stared at the pooling blood. ((W-Will... will you be... okay?))

The thief's shoulders seemed to sag slightly, exhaustion carved deep into his features even with his eyes closed. ))...With rest, yes.((

((Is there... anything I can do to help?))

))...You're doing enough.((

The boy's frown deepened at the other's words, the message ringing loud and clear: Go the hell away. This time, however, the sting of those unsaid words was enough to get Ryou to agree. He gave a slight sigh of defeat. ((Alright... I'll let you rest then. Sorry to have bothered you.)) He slowly shifted back onto his feet.

A raspy voice rose, "w-wait..."

"_W-Wait..."_

Ryou stopped and turned back to his dark half. ((Yes?))

A hiss slipped from Bakura's throat as he tried to shift where he sat, only to seemingly give up as his face was swallowed by the shadows of his bangs. ))You... need to rest as well... Ryou.(( His bloodshot eyes - dull and slightly unfocused - suddenly opened to look up to the British boy. He seemed to struggle for a moment with his words, only to finally look away into the darkness of his soulroom instead. ))This... won't be like before. Do you realize that?(( His brow tensed further. ))...It won't go away for a week or two.((

Ryou frowned, honestly confused. ((What won't?))

Stone colored eyes looked back to him. ))Your migraine. It'll come back the second your modern medicine wears off.((

((Why would...?)) He trailed off, his brow suddenly furrowing. ((The Ring.)) It suddenly clicked: ((You're not inhabiting the Ring anymore...))

))No... now I'm inhabiting you instead. The Ring used to protect you and your mind from the weight of my own...(( His stare dropped to his blood soaked clothes. ))...But not anymore.((

Ryou said nothing for a while, the pieces to the puzzle falling into place within his mind. Bakura didn't have to say anything more, he knew his host could deduce what he needed to from what he had said already. Despite the facade he put on around everyone else, Ryou was not an imbecile. He was an honor student in London, after all, and everyone had always told him he would achieve great things. The boy had the book smarts to take on Kaiba and Bakura had the street sense to keep up with the rest of the world. They were both sharp, just on different sides of the blade.

Slowly, Bakura lifted his stare to his host, only to find him staring straight back. ))What the hells are you staring at?(( He snarled, not liking being studied - especially with how he was fairing right now. It was beyond demeaning.

Ryou was meticulous, rarely acting on impulse alone. Helping Bakura had been a spur of the moment decision... and now he was running through every possible move they could take from here. However, no matter how much he thought about it, nothing could be solved without the honest answer of a single question... and honesty had never been a trait Bakura shined at.

The boy picked his words, ((the Millennium Items are gone - they fell into the darkness when Atemu left for the afterlife.)) He watched the bitterness fill the other's features, not heeding the warning such a change gave. ((On top of that, Zork has turned against you.)) A flash of anger rose in a burning glare, but Ryou didn't let himself flinch to it. He needed an answer. ((Where does that leave us, Bakura?))

The thief's glare narrowed coldly, glaring at the boy as though that act alone would bring him his death. If he could move without passing out, Bakura would have already planted his fist in Ryou jaw... but, then again, that would be why the Brit was doing this_ NOW_, wouldn't it? Sometimes Bakura hated the fact that the two of them could think on the same level.

((Well?))

Bakura glowered, eyes averting to the room. ))Well _what_?(( He snapped back. ))Everything I've ever associated myself with has left me behind.(( His cold glare shot back to Ryou. ))So where the fuck _does_ that leave me?!((

The boy sighed and, surprisingly, crouched down in front of the thief, looking at him in the eye. ((It's not just about you, Bakura, it's me as well - us. We share a corridor and a body, so what you decide to do affects me too.)) His brow furrowed slightly. ((It always has. I had to move to _Japan_, Bakura. I learned another language because of what you decided. Think about that.)) He offered a faint smile. ((...I'll let you rest.))

Rising to his feet, Ryou began making his way back across the dark room. Bakura stayed where he was, watching as the British boy was slowly swallowed by the shadows that enveloped the thief's soulroom... but, just before the boy disappeared completely from his view, Bakura heard himself call out.

"...Ryou..."

"_...Ryou..."_

When the teen turned back to him, Bakura's brow twitched slightly at the tension drawn over his features. His stare fell to the mess he referred to as himself, staring half-mindedly at his blood soaked clothes. ))I...(( His hands curled into fists at his side, making him bite his tongue in attempt to ignore the blistering cries of the tiny broken bones. ))I will... I will do what I can...(( he spoke slowly, swallowing the taste of blood that greeted his tongue, ))...to ease the burden on you.((

A smile immediately spread over the boy's features, sincere and strong. ((Thank you, that means a lot to me.)) And, a few seconds later, he'd left the soulroom and was gone to take care of the body.

Bakura sat without moving a muscle for what felt like eternity, just staring into the abyss around him. With every passing moment, he could feel his soulroom drawing on Ryou's without either of their consent. How much strain could Ryou take like this? The Brit already had minimum energy as it was with how Bakura had left him to go play his Ultimate Shadow Game with the Pharaoh. The thief had taken everything he could before departing - just in case he required an extra boost...

Bakura groaned as he leaned his head back, letting it rest against the cold stone wall behind him as he closed his eyes lightly. He breathed a deep sigh, only to cough painfully as he moved his broken ribs, spurring a slew of curses from his tongue. Trying to settle his breathing, he forced his eyes to open to the room of self-reflect that he had created piece by piece.

He loathed this goddamn room. Every aspect of his life, every choice he made was symbolized in here in one form or another, all ready to throw itself in his face at every opportunity. He didn't need this stupid place to tell him he was worthless, he'd figured that one out thousands of years ago and, frankly, the reminders were just plain redundant. Ever since he was a child, he basked in the concept of revenge... and where had that landed him? Three thousand years of torturous confinement within a piece of cursed jewelry with a demon breathing down his neck, that's where.

))Pathetic.((

He sneered at himself, his eyes stinging as he scanned over what surrounded him... and everything that had left him behind. Everyone had left - even his greatest nemesis - leaving him as the single straggler. He was always the straggler. Little Bakura playing catch-up with the Priests of the High Council, with the great Pharaoh himself... who the hell had he been fooling?

))Fuck it.((

A voice called from ages past, _//Slifer the Sky Dragon, attack!\\_

Bakura twitched, nearly feeling the blistering attack against his skin again. ))Fuck you.((

//_It's over, Bakura!_\\

))F-Fuck... all of you...(( even in his mind, his words were frail, ))...f-fuck... e-everything.(( He gritted his teeth, the shadows once again hiding his face behind his wild bangs. ))W-Where... can I go from here?((

* * *

**Five Years Later**

A pale hand reached out, pulling a single card from his deck as thousands of eyes watched tensely from the packed stands. The opponent across from him tensed involuntarily, cobalt blue eyes narrowing coldly as his hands fisted at his side. A white trench coat lain overtop of black clothing, he glared across to his much shorter opponent who attired a more punkish look. A long pause took the air, drawing out even across continents as people stood glued to their TV sets. Kaiba was in the lead by a thousand points... was this going to be the duel where he finally reclaimed his championship title from his pint-sized rival?

Not likely.

A young man in his mid-twenties barely gave the screen a glance as he walked right on past those crowded around a small TV set up on a front porch. A black backpack slung over one shoulder, he made his way down the street at a nice, relaxed pace as he enjoyed the afternoon sun on his shoulders. With the warm weather of the summer days, the man sported a white t-shirt with two blue strips horizontally across his chest, a pair of stressed jeans, and some sneakers that perhaps had seen a bit too much use.

Coming to a stop at a corner, the young man waited patiently for the traffic to take a break for him to cross the street. The world was relaxed today, people meandering along their own tasks without the usual hustling that came with city life... even if it was the suburbs. A sunny weekend day had a magic effect on people, it would seem.

Things were finally looking up. After so much pain and so many tears shed behind closed doors, the world had shifted and Ryou Bakura was home. Within twenty-four hours of returning to Domino, the teen had tied up all loose ends and had left without a second thought. There had never been anything for him in that cold city, so he had seen no point in wasting his life there. London, England, on the other hand, had almost seemed to welcome the boy back with open arms, Ryou's entire life adjusting pace to mold back into the old habits that he missed so much. It was all the simple things that hit him the hardest... and seeing his father again.

As he found a gap in the traffic, Ryou made his way across the road, a contented smile gracing his handsome features. The boy actually got quite a good laugh concerning how his appearance had changed as he got older... or, rather, how much it became even more similar to a certain three thousand year old thief. Though the warmth in the young man's eyes still shone much differently than the cold stare of his yami, Ryou found himself losing that overall childish cuteness that he (and Bakura) had scowled at more than once, replaced by the solid features of a man. He did, however, make a point of not allowing his hair to follow Bakura's devilish influence.

He could feel his other right beneath his skin, watching the world through his eyes as Ryou went along his way. It was a ghostly feel, like a presence was hovering just overtop of his skin - not quite touching, but close enough so that it used to make the hairs on the back of his neck rise on end. He was comfortable with the feeling now though, it felt right - normal. Such a strange word to still be in Ryou's vocabulary, but he supposed that 'normal' truly was a matter of perspective.

((Want to take over for a while, Bakura? It's a beautiful day.))

He heard a rough scoff. ))Then enjoy it. You're almost there and I'll be taking over tonight, anyway.((

Such a change. Sometimes it really did mystify them both how drastically their relationship had shifted since the incident at the Shrine... if you could call what they had before a 'relationship'. Did a slave have a relationship with their master? Probably not. For the most part at the beginning the change had been forced upon them, the thief needing to help his host support them both or risk Ryou's mind collapsing completely. By the time Bakura's soul had healed, the Brit was positively dragging, his soul nearly warn through... until one morning he awoke with an energy that he had forgotten could be possible. The thief used his own energy to give the boy a boost and, in exchange, Ryou willingly shared use of the body. It was nearly ironic how Bakura's old remark of paying rent to his landlord had become so damn literal.

Leaving Domino City had helped the most in leaving the past behind them and now, five years later, they were making a life for themselves in the world as one person. Because of this, most people who knew Ryou Bakura thought rather openly that he was one of the strangest people they knew. After all, it wasn't exactly a common occurrence that one person was able to walk out of the arts club and onto the rugby field and be friends with the people in each setting. Most of his friends just took him as bipolar, which wasn't really that far off from the truth.

Ryou always visited his father on the weekends instead of staying at his dorm. Sure, he got jabs from his friends because of this habit, but the father and son had lost so many of the past years that all they really wanted right now was to reclaim what time they could. Bakura stayed as silent as the grave during those visits, burying himself back into his soulroom to leave the two in peace. The man still didn't know of the spirit's continued existence in his son's body and, as far as Bakura could see, it was best for it to stay that way.

Ryou, on the other hand, wanted to tell him.

The young man's smile only grew as a familiar house came into sight down the street. It was a large house on the very outskirts of Eastern London, divided into three separate parts for three families. The small patch of grass at the front of the house was edged with the same red brick that constructed the house and it too divided the property from one owner from another. Ryou's father lived on the right side of the building, allowing the added bonus of a few windows along the length of the house that looked out onto the street. The front door was brought out from the rest of the house with a small room of its own to make a sort of entrance way. Brown trim work perhaps needing a new paint job, bushes had grown tall up and along the front of the house, breaking up the solid brick with its vivid green and decorative flowers. It was in the back yard, however, that the main gardens were laid in... ones which Ryou's mother used to spend a lot of her time planting different flowers and vegetables.

His father had worked like hell to keep ownership of the property after their family had shattered, not wanting to move in case his son found his way back. Now more than ever, he was glad to have made that choice.

Walking up the short path of interlocked stones, Ryou jogged up a few stone steps and knocked lightly on the door. Giving a slight wave to a neighbour in the front yard of the third part of the building, Ryou was still wearing his small smile as the door pulled open.

He had aged, there was no denying that. Light pieces of gray had invaded his once intense blue hair, leaving it slightly dulled in its ponytail. Wrinkles were beginning to line his features ever so slightly, giving him a worn look that he had probably acquired after Ryou had left for Japan. Thin-rimmed glasses sat on his nose in front of strong, brown eyes... that suddenly softened at the very sight of his boy.

Wearing an old beige shirt and jeans, a smile appeared on his lips. "Come to give your old man even more gray hairs, hm?"

Ryou laughed, immediately noticing that ghostly feel over his skin disappear in a shot. Strangely enough, he found himself missing it. "What better way to spend a weekend?"

He returned the laugh, taking his son's hand and giving him a hug at the same time before stepping back and letting him inside. "How's school?" He questioned as he closed the door. "Having any problems?"

"None at all." Ryou replied as he kicked off his sneakers and dumped his bag on the floor, leaving his dad behind as he walked into the slightly narrow home that was mostly decorated in elaborately carved wood. His father had always been good with his hands. "I have an exam coming up in the next few weeks, hopefully all will go well with that."

The man followed him in, not able to hold back a laugh as he found his son routing through the fridge. "Ah, so that's why you came to see me: to steal my food." Stepping forward, he ruffled the young man's messy hair as Ryou straightened with a beer in his hand. "You truly are a Bakura."

"Oh, blast, and I'd hoped the curse had skipped a generation." He gave a slight pout as his father took the beer for himself, making Ryou get another. He would have a tea later, right now he wanted to cool off a little. "Anyway, if things keep going as they are, I should be graduating at the very top of my class."

"Like I said," the man proclaimed proudly, opened the screen door to step into the backyard as he did, "following the Bakura tradition."

Ryou laughed, "right, because you were such a top student in school. I bet you know every duty a janitor has to do at every point in the day."

He flopped down in chair out in the backyard, offering a wide grin. "Had to do something during detention."

"Right." The young man took his own seat amongst the perfectly-kept plants, comfortably sinking into it. "I think you've told me about a hundred different stories."

He shrugged, opening his beer and taking a sip. "The indoor snowball fight was one of my personal favorites." Taking another drink, he slowly shook his head, staring at his son. "My boy the lawyer. Now _that_ comes with quite a bit of bragging rights, to be sure." He smiled. "I'm proud of you, Ryou."

"I know, dad." The young man smirked, opening his can and taking a sip. "But I still have a lot of work to do before I graduate."

"You'll do fine, you always have." A grin spread over the man's features. "Now, for the important bit: any lasses chasing you down? Surely you got _that_ from me, if nothing else." When he caught a blush growing on Ryou's cheek, he laughed, "I knew it! Is it that girl you mentioned before? What was her name...?" He snapped his fingers. "Jami!"

Ryou groaned, quickly glancing around him for something to change the subject to. "Trim work needs repainting." He said rather randomly, gesturing to the house. "Maybe I'll take the afternoon and get it done next time I'm here."

His father smirked knowingly, willing to let the topic drop... for now. However, his cheerful demeanor seemed to drop with it. "I take it you're heading to that duel monsters thing tonight?"

The young man nodded. "It's only about half an hour from here by bus, I shouldn't be too long. The prize money helps with the bills."

A touch of sternness invaded his eyes. "You know that I can give you any money you need, Ryou. For Pete's sake, you went to law school on a full scholarship, I think I can afford a bit of grocery money." He sighed slightly. "Honestly, Ryou, after everything that happened with that damn Millennium Ring... I wouldn't have thought that you'd want to keep playing that game..."

Ryou's frown deepened, his eyes dropping to his lap. He had nothing to say.

Suddenly realizing where he had taken the conversation, the father shook his head as though to clear his thoughts. "Never mind, Ryou. Forget I said that." He murmured quietly, forcing a smile forward. "So, you're still playing rugby?"

As conversation shifted onto safer topics, the afternoon shifted into evening as the sun began to dip down low on the horizon, draping an odd orangish light over London. Saying some last minute goodbyes to his father, Ryou slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the house, trotting down the few steps before walking briskly out onto the sidewalk. The streets were quieter than they were before, allowing a stillness to settle the residential area as Ryou came to wait at the bus stop. He breathed a deep sigh, letting the cooler air fill his lungs and settle his mind. He couldn't believe that he actually felt guilty about going to this small, night tournament. He knew his father didn't understand... but he didn't know about Bakura yet.

Ryou felt a shift in his mind as a presence came forward and that ghostly feel returned over his skin. He was thankful for it right now, it felt comforting in its own strange, messed-up way. ((I told you that you don't have to seal yourself off from the world when I visit my dad.)) He watched the bus pull up with half-interest, boarding without a second thought and choosing a random seat to slump down into. ((I don't know why you think you do.))

He received no response for a moment, then the feeling over Ryou's skin grew lighter and, not a second later, his transparent yami was slouched in the seat next to him - obviously claiming the window seat for himself. Slumped over half-way down the seat with one knee braced on the back of the seat in front of him comfortably, the ancient thief gave a smug smirk with one arm laid across his chest and his other propped up on the first one, his hand fiddling idly with his devilish locks.

))Correct me if I'm wrong,(( he spoke, voice practically dripping with arrogance, ))but is the point of you visiting your father not to catch up on past years and reestablish a relationship of sorts?((

Ryou frowned, his gaze finding his lap. ((Well, yes, but–))

))Time that, I will point out, was lost because of myself and Zork?((

He gave the spirit a glare. ((Bakura, that was–))

((Is it not true?))

The young man had to suppress a groan, raising a hand to try to rub away the tension across his forehead. ((You're impossible.))

))I rest my case.((

((That's my line.))

))Not yet, it isn't. You still have quite a bit of schooling left, so don't get cocky.((

((That's coming from you?))

))Touche.(( A silence spread between the two as Bakura's gaze shifted to stare out the window, watching the world whiz by. ))Where is it this time?((

Ryou smirked slightly - the underlying eagerness in the other's tone was almost _too_ easy to detect. ((At a small club down on Second. Depending on how many people enter, the prize could be anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand.)) His light stare turned to his transparent other self. ((This tournament is also boasting to have a new twist to the matches.))

The young man couldn't help but chuckle as a sinister grin slowly crept across his yami's features, a sharp look invading the thief's glare to promise pain to whoever was unfortunate enough to be his opponent. After all, if there was one thing about Bakura that hadn't changed, it was that he still loved to scare the shit out of people.

* * *

The last rays of sun were just leaking out of the horizon by the time Ryou found himself standing outside the club. Considering it was a Night Tournament, there were quite a few people here. Backpack slung over his shoulder, the white haired man hesitated under the lamplight for a moment, eyeing the place over.

((Alright, take them down.))

You only had to blink and you would miss it. Warm eyes suddenly cooled, a sharp blade that had been dormant in each iris pulling to the surface to make his glare cut at just a single glance. An air of confidence and arrogance practically radiated off of the being as an intense smirk worked its way across his lips, his hair shifting to take a more demonic feel. He scanned those around him as they slowly entered the club, some dressed up like idiots, some in casual clothes, and some in between. As for him, he only needed two things.

Taking the backpack from his shoulder, Bakura pulled it open and grabbed the article within, practically ripping it out in all its magnificence. A sudden wind caught the material, allowing the thief to easily slip his arms into the sleeves before it settled around him for the perfect fit. No, Bakura wasn't much for fashion... but he did love his black trench coat. The weight of it across his shoulders, the way the collar stood on end around his neck, the way the tails spiked inward to complete his sharp appearance... it was one of things he'd latched onto in this modern world.

Satisfied, the thief pulled his deck from his backpack as well, fanning them out in his hand for one final check before flipping them together again, Dark Necrofear at the base. Tossing the backpack over his shoulder again, Bakura made his way into the club slowly, daring anyone to rush him. Of course, no one did. All it took was one glare and everyone seemed more than happy to let the thief take his time. Mortals were fairly easy to deal with, after all.

He signed up as 'Tozokuoh', he always had. It was his way of attempting to keep this life away from Ryou's. This place wasn't good enough for his host, but it suited him just fine. The smell of cigarettes and beer drifted through the air of the club, adding its own touch to the atmosphere as Bakura took a seat. Some woman wanted him to have a drink, but he ignored her completely, eyes focused on the raised dueling platform in the middle of the club. He supposed it was usually used for dancers or something of the like, but tonight... it was _his _and _no one_ was going to distract him.

Tonight was his night.

A burly announcer stepped up on the stage as the room quieted down slightly. "Looks like we have quite the turnout tonight," he spoke, voice deep and a confident smirk flashing beneath an overgrown goatee. Bakura wasn't sure what his accent was, but it wasn't quite British. "I suppose half of you are psyched out of your minds with Yugi Muto's lasted victory blasted across all the airways..."

Bakura scowled, shuffling his deck subconsciously.

"...but tonight I say this: Yugi WHO?!" He shouted out.

An echo cheered back at him from the crowd, "'Yugi WHO'!"

"In this club tonight, we will give new meaning to the word dueling as not only your skills as duelists are tested, but also your strength and stamina! Tonight, I don't want to even hear the names of those supposed champions of the game!"

Another cheer rose up, spurring an amused smirk from Bakura - this man knew how to work a crowd.

"Let's find the real champion right here tonight!" He whirled around, gesturing to a nearly worn-out screen behind him that was slowly scrolling down to columns worth of names. "Computer, choose our first duelists!"

At those words, the scrolling suddenly blasted into high-gear, turning the names into nothing but a solid blur as the computer randomly selected the first competitors of the night. Slowly, one column began to slow down until it was just crawling by, finally stopping and illuminating the name "Flashpoint" in a blue glow. Bakura paid half-attention to a cheer across the room, watching the second column slowly stop... right on "Tozokuoh" which was blazed in a red light.

The thief smirked. ))Perfect.((

Rising to his feet, Bakura made his way to the stage before jumping effortlessly onto the platform, not paying any attention to the stairs not even ten feet away. Taking a duel disk from the announcer, the thief attached it to his arm before sliding his deck into the holding compartment, making his way to his dueling spot as he did. Turning, he scowled at the image of his so-called challenge. A straight-cut man in a fitted blue suit smirked at the thief, brown hair slicked back neatly against his head and black rimmed glasses on his nose. He seemed like the ultimate of business types, blending into the club as well as a goat amongst horses.

Bakura smirked cuttingly as the man took position across from him. "This won't take long."

"You are absolutely correct," the other responded as he set his deck in place. "I suggest you not to blink - my deck works a million-fold faster than what I'm sure you can think." His smirk grew confidently. "I've mastered this game in a way that an amateur punk like yourself couldn't even begin to comprehend."

))You've got to be kidding me.(( The thief snickered, amused to no end, "old man, you have no idea who you're speaking to."

"Am I not speaking to 'Tozokuoh'?" He scoffed. "What a name. What does it even mean?"

"It can mean plenty of things." Bakura's smirk grew, his duel disk setting itself. "But, for you, it means your ultimate demise!"

His duel disk activated. "I highly doubt that. I'll have you beaten in a flash!"

"_**LET'S DUEL**_!"

The man flashed a smile. "I will begin." He drew, only to lift his cold stare to the thief. "I have you in my sights, it seems. Meteor of Destruction, level one thousand of his Life Points!"

"What?!" Bakura snapped, only to cringe as a fury of flaming meteors blasted his side of the stage into a fiery inferno. As the image died off, he opened his mouth to speak... only to clamp it shut as an electric current suddenly surged up his arm, attacking his every nerve as he dealt with the burning agony... then it faded off. He growled. ))Ryou.((

((I... I'm f-fine... wasn't expecting that though, I must admit.)) The boy heaved a breath, seemingly to steady himself. ((So, this must be the... new twist they were boasting.)) He scowled. ((It's torture dueling.))

))Like a Shadow Game.(( A creepy grin worked onto his lips as he straightened, chuckling to himself at the stunned look of his opponent who had also obviously been caught off guard by the electric show as well. ))Seal yourself in your soulroom - you won't feel any of this.((

((No, I–))

))I mean it, Ryou. This isn't open for discussion.((

((Oh, bugger off. I'm not going anywhere.))

))Do _not_ make me seal you off myself.((

((We both know you won't do that,)) the other growled lowly. ((Now, stop bickering with me and say something to _him_!))

Bakura's chuckle grew at the mortified expression across from him, cracking his neck one way then the other. "That was shocking," he mocked. "Seems our duel disks have a loose circuit, hm?"

"Electrocution?!" His stare shot to the announcer sitting off stage. "You expect me to barbecue some kid?! Are you_ insane_?!"

"The crowd likes to see a show." The bear-like man grinned. "So either make with the fireworks..." he rolled off challengingly, eyes flashing in strict warning, "...or you can pass your turn and let your opponent have a go. See if he is as compassionate as you."

"No!" The man snapped, "I won't do this! I forfeit!"

"Not an option!"

Suddenly, small pieces of the floor dropped down on either side of each duelist and mechanical clamps flew out, sealing themselves around the ankles of both duelist to hold them in place. Mechanical arms only having a few jointed parts, they made moving difficult - if not, then impossible - to do. The crowd rose up in a mighty cheer at the spectacle.

Flashpoint shuttered, expression frozen with anger and fear as his fists clenched at his sides, "You bastard!" He seethed, turning to the announcer the best he could. "You didn't–"

"Fool." Bakura sneered, arms crossed over his chest. "Why don't you stop talking before you drag us down any further than being chained to the stage?" He flashed a grin, revealing a sharp canine. "Let's continue, shall we?"

Flashpoint spun, looking at the thief with a stunned expression. "You're accepting this?!"

The other's grin merely widened in challenge. "A contract is a contract. You did read the thing, didn't you?" He chuckled darkly. "Obviously not. I'm afraid that turning tail and running just isn't an option down here. If you want such luxuries then go enter into something from the surface world. Down here we have our own rules." He smirked devilishly, his comments earning a few dark chuckles from around the room. "Now, are you going to finish your turn or is it my go?"

The man gritted his teeth. "Very well, but remember that this was your choice." He chose his cards. "I play Hinotama and Ookazi!"

Another pelting of fire dropped Bakura's Life Points to 1700 (500 damage and 800 damage) along with another charge of electricity that blasted his system so badly that it nearly dropped him to his knees. As Bakura attempted to recover from the blow, the man played two magic cards. The first made a player pay Life Points to summon monsters, the total price being the monster's level x100. The second was to add a toll for attacking with the same principal used - the monster's level x100 points. This did, however, leave him with no monsters on the field and no cards in his hand, but it left Bakura in quite a tight spot regardless.

The thief was beyond annoyed. He had wanted someone to mess with for a while, someone he could weave his fingers around and mold into a perfect little puppet that feared their own shadow. However, he wasn't willing to risk the prize money to fight this idiot. The fool fought with magic cards alone - probably only carrying a few monsters in his whole deck - and that in itself made him too great of a liability to mess with for long.

"Your pitiful dueling strategy is a bore as much as it is cowardly," Bakura snapped. "I won't deal with the likes of someone who cowers behind their magic cards like a frightened rat. Where's the brutality in a deck with no fangs or claws, but merely magic and traps?" His eyes narrowed. "I will teach you the true nature of this game. My first turn will be your last, mortal."

"Yes, for you it will be shortly." The man's frown deepened, he didn't seem to be enjoying this at all. "I won't prolonge your suffering."

Lowly, Bakura began to chuckle to himself in amusement... only to then burst out laughing at the top of his lungs. "'Prolonge _my_ suffering'? You fool! You have no _idea_ what the word 'suffering' implies! This little game is pathetic compared to the true horrors that await lost souls in the shadows of night!"

It was at times like these that he really wished he still had some iota of Shadow Magic within him. He really wanted to shroud the place in a purple fog right about now.

"This duel ends now." As his opponent stiffened, Bakura picked his card. "First, I'll summon Revenge Spirit (700/250) in attack mode!" As the image appeared before him, the thief nearly started laughing when he took four hundred damage to his score and another charge drove through him. He staggered against it, his knees nearly buckling out from under him... but his smirk was only growing. ))Just like old times...((

"A weak monster for a high cost. Attack me all you want," Flashpoint retorted, "you will only be destroying yourself."

"Who said anything about attacking yet?" Bakura snickered, holding up a card. "Now, I activate a powerful magic card known as Final Destiny. With this, all cards on the field are destroyed... all I have to do is sacrifice the cards left in my hand."

The man cringed as his cards disintegrated, frowning as his opponent's monster was destroyed as well. "But, why...?"

"Fear not, mortal, it'll make sense soon enough... once I explain Revenge Spirit's special ability." He grinned. "When it is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can pay half my Life Points in order to summon another creature to the field straight from my deck for one turn... and I choose my Ultimate Obedient Fiend (3500/3000)!"

A blast of energy drew across the field in a whirlwind of power, out from the middle of which a giant, red beast was drawn upwards and onto the dueling field. Cramping the room, the powerful creature loomed over Flashpoint hungrily, drool dripping from between sharp teeth. It's breath was putrid, making the business man gag as he did his best to cover his nose with the sleeve of his jacket.

He growled, "this isn't over! Even if you do attack me, I'll still be left with 500 Life Points!"

"Wrong," the thief returned easily. "Remember when I discarded my hand to the Graveyard? Well, I'd been holding a monster called Dark Matter (0/0). When its in the Graveyard, it boosts my Dark types by 500 Points! Just enough to give my Fiend the power to obliterate you!"

"NO!"

"Ultimate Obedient Fiend, _ATTACK_!"

The blast was incredible, making the bone-chilling scream that accompanied it all the more haunting as Flashpoint's Life Points fell to zero in one solid attack. He shook on the floor wildly, his body lashed with electricity that made his muscles jerk and twist against his will. When his punishment ended, he was dragged off stage and tended to by a nurse on standby.

"And the first winner of the night is Tozokuoh!"

A strong cheer rose up to congratulate the victory, but Bakura paid no attention. Taking back his cards, he removed the duel disk from his arm as the shackles around his ankles jerked open - giving him freedom once again. Tossing his disk at the announcer, he promptly jumped down from the stage and ordered a drink as he sat down.

This was going to be a very amusing night.

* * *

The duelist known as Tozokuoh dueled three more times and confronted three more versions of torture dueling... each time ending in victory. The final match was his occult deck against an alien deck. The duel had lasted for long enough, seemingly-assured victory swaying from one duelist to the other as each turn progressed... but, at the very end, Bakura won with Dark Necrofear and Diabound in a combination attack that left his opponent stunned.

Prize money tucked away in his backpack, Bakura exited the club just an hour or so past midnight, breathing in the cold night air. The thief wasn't much impressed by cold _anything_, but the chilly summer nights of England kind of felt similar to the chill that used to spread over Egypt when the sun had dipped down. Despite some memories that he'd rather forget from his long life, he did miss his old home. No matter where he was or how he changed or how_ it_ changed over the years, Kul-Elna would always be home.

Ryou's soft smile could be heard in his voice, ((we could always take a trip there.))

))Stay out my personal thoughts.(( He scowled, already knowing the concept was absurd as their minds were even closer now than they were before. ))And your father would just_ love_ that, now, wouldn't he?(( The slight shift between them put Ryou back in control with just the blink of an eye. Settling back into his mind, Bakura stared out of his host's eyes onto the dark, downtown roads. ))He already disapproves of you dueling... can you imagine what he would say if you suddenly had the urge to go to Egypt? The man has already abandoned his archeologist work because of the incidents in the past, he's not about to allow you to walk right into the heart of where everything began.((

(('Allow me'? Bakura, I'm an adult. I can do what I want.)) Turning, Ryou made his way down the street, the flickering lamplight spilling over his shoulders as he went. ((If I so happen to suddenly want to root around in a desert, then that's what I'll do.))

))And you expect the very person that you are attempting to reconnect with to be alright with that?(( Bakura rolled his eyes, a light growl in his tone. ))The memories you'll be stirring up will be too much for him to handle.((

Ryou's brow furrowed. ((I know.)) He whispered back, trying to hide the pang of sorrow that this conversation was bringing on him. ((I... I haven't forgotten.))

Bakura frowned, sensing the change in his host instantly. ))You belong in London, Ryou... with your father.(( Then he pulled back without another word, preparing to seal himself off to give Ryou some peace for a little while.

The boy stopped dead as the ghostly feel over his skin suddenly drew fainter. ((Bakura, stop!)) He shouted in his mind, slight relief flooding him when he felt the other hesitate. ((D-Don't... don't leave again. You're one of my closest friends... and I don't want you to constantly be sealing yourself away anymore.))

))Keh. Don't be a imbecile, Ryou. We may have gotten closer, but you and I could never be _friends_. I destroyed most of your life and plenty of who you are as a person, don't lie to me and say that you can honestly forgive me for that.((

((Oh, bloody hell, I've already forgiven you, dammit!)) The boy shouted back with a growing edge to his tone, hands fisting at his side. ((It's you that won't forgive yourself!))

))Is that so?(( He mocked straight back.

((Yes! Why else would you disappear _every time _I visit my dad? Why else would you retreat back to your soulroom the very _instant_ that the conversation sways too deeply into what happened to my family and my old friends?))

Bakura growled, anger rising to defend himself. ))Did it ever occur to you that perhaps I draw back because I don't want to deal with your pathetic family or your smothering emotions? Sitting in my soulroom is much more welcoming than the headache I would get by bothering with either!((

Ryou forced himself to relax, not wanting to take the bait. ((Liar.))

))What?!((

((You're a liar, always have been. You'd say anything to get me mad at you so I'd drop the subject, wouldn't you? You're very skilled at manipulation, Bakura... but I know your game, so stop being a coward.))

The ghostly feel drew even lighter as the spirit pulled out of their shared body, glaring at Ryou in cold murder with transparent hands clenched tight at his sides. ))What did you say, _boy_?!((

He young man looked straight back, a challenging yet sweet smirk tilting his features. ((You're a coward.))

The thief's eye twitched in suppressed anger. ))You impudent little–((

"–Prick," he finished for his dark half, chuckling softly. He was glad he was the only one on the street right now, otherwise someone might have took him for being on drugs. "I suppose you and I have more in common then just our looks then, yes?"

Bakura snarled, annoyance written clear across his features as he stubbornly crossed his arms, his murderous stare shifting off his host to dissect some poor rat nosing around in the garbage of an alley. His mind had froze on him, leaving him with nothing to say... and not for the first time either. Ryou was, in fact, the only person in Bakura's entire existence that had ever been able to accomplish leaving the thief speechless. It wasn't something the spirit was proud of either.

((...Meet my dad.))

Bakura's glare shot back to Ryou, eyeing the boy doubtfully. ))No.((

((I've kept him in the dark about you long enough.)) His frown dipped lower, softening the small smile on his features. ((He deserves to know the truth.))

The thief glowered. ))He _deserves_ to think that what is left of his family has managed to escape the curse the Millennium Ring brought upon them.((

Ryou sighed slightly as he started to walk, his transparent yami following beside him. The young man was, after all, the only person able to see him. ((The Ring was toxic.)) He admitted after a moment of silence. ((You may have done a lot of things yourself, Bakura, but it was the Ring itself that plagued my family with bad luck. It caused so much to happen in such little time and I didn't want to believe any of it was real at first. The Ring wanted me alone - it wanted me to cling to it... to depend on it and nothing else. That's why it made those around me suffer so much...))

))Don't blame the Ring for my own actions.(( Bakura snapped more viciously than he had intended. He hated talking about the past. He _hated_ it! However, he did force himself to tone it down a few notches when he spoke again, ))I was the one who destroyed those closest to you.((

((Not all of them.)) Ryou offered a faltering smile that was crushed the second it was created. ((You had nothing to do with mum's or Amane's deaths. Dad can't–))

))Your father won't believe that for an instant. By telling him about me, you will only make things more difficult on yourself.((

((I... I just don't want to keep this from him anymore, Bakura. I can make him at least give you a chance...))

He smirked bitterly, his stare moving back to Ryou's. ))I think I might have screwed that chance when I forced you to stab him, remember?((

Ryou sighed, still forcing himself to not take the bait. He wouldn't get mad again, that's exactly what Bakura wanted, after all. ((I remember,)) he replied quietly, hesitating at a street corner before walking forward again.

))Whether you believe me or not, I am not trying to make this even more difficult for you, Ryou.(( His stare narrowed. ))But I also won't have you fooling yourself with these fantasies of how things should be. You know in your soul that no one should know of my existence within you.(( When Ryou gave him a look, Bakura sighed, remembering someone who actually did. ))Fine, no one _else_ then, alright? It's bad enough with_ one_ outsider knowing.((

((I still think you're being a coward about this.))

))And I still think you're delusional, but I don't go and tell you, now, do I?((

Ryou chuckled, ((ya, thanks a–))

The shrill cry of squealing tires broke the silence of the night as the young man shot around, eyes flying wide as a set of blinding lights spun through the corner beside him, the vehicle's tail nearly missing the turn completely. Fear froze him as a horn blared out hauntingly, the wheels suddenly jamming up... and Ryou's world shattered like glass.

His body jerked forward, his legs sweeping out from underneath him as he smashed against the windshield, bones snapping like twigs as his body was thrown aside like a rag-doll. The road burnt against his skin as he met with it next, more bones shattering as he smashed back down to the ground and rolled across the pavement until he finally came to a stop near the sidewalk. Sprawled on his stomach, blood and vomit choked up his throat, spewing over the road he lay on as still as the grave. Dull eyes flickered for a brief second before stilling completely, his entire body turning cold and numb as a dampness spread out beneath him, staining the pavement crimson.

* * *

Brow twitching tensely against the agony that bristled through his entire soul, a groan leaked from Bakura's lips as he pushed himself up from the floor of his soulroom, consciousness finally dawning on him. Weakly pushing himself to his feet, the thief held his aching skull for dear life as he squinted into the darkness that surrounded him in confusion, desperately scrambling to remember what had happened. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, only to stumble sideways as he lost his balance.

))What the hell...?!(( He cursed to himself, tenderly holding his head that began to swim with his rapid movements. ))What happened...?((

_Squealing tires._

_A flood of light._

_Thump!_

_Crack!_

_Thud!_

Bakura's eyes flew wide. "_**RYOU!**_"

A haunting yet quiet echo whispered back,_"Ryou."_

He bolted to his door, doing his best to ignore his spinning senses as he stumbled more than once on his way. Hand snatching the doorhandle, he twisted and pulled... to no avail. He growled at the unmoving blockade in his path, a canine flashing as he twisted and pulled the handle again... then again a different way... to the same result.

"Dammit!"

"_Dammit."_

Pulling back, he shot his fist straight into the dented steel hard enough to make it shutter where it stood... and for him to cry out as he quickly retracted his hand, gripping it tightly as his snarl pulled tighter. A mocking echo of his cry sounded back to him, making him all the more enraged as he whipped forward again - smashing the door with both hands again and again and again in a mad furry.

"Let me _OUT_!"

"_Let me out."_

He whipped around with his foot, smashing the door as hard as he could... and, finally, it seemed to shift on its hinges. Pulling open with an whining creek, it lifted its seal around the Tomb Robber and, with it, a flood of emotion suddenly washed over him of nothing but pure agony and fear. Bakura snarled against the pressure of it, pushing forward as fast as his legs would allow him to. The corridor was shredding around him as he practically fell against his hikari's door, only this one swung wide open to send the thief down to his hands and knees - unable to catch his balance in time.

Groaning, Bakura lifted his head to the room that was once very definition of neat and tidy... which was now ransacked. Large gashes had ripped the room apart, many of the articles throughout it shattered to pieces on the tattered floor... and, right on the far side of the room, a young man sat on the edge of his bed.

))Ryou.((

Gritting his teeth, Bakura pushed himself back up onto unstable legs and made his way across the room, stopping right before the boy. Ryou didn't respond to the other's presence, his head hanging low to conceal most of his face with his arms leaning on his thighs - hands clasped together in the middle. His skin looked pasty and his hair hung limply around his head like a mop, strands sticking out every which way.

Bakura's frown furrowed deeper. "Ryou," he spoke, his voice sounding far too loud amongst the eery stillness of his hikari's soulroom.

Fear began to weave its needle through the stone features of the thief when he got no reply from his host, not even a shift in how he was sitting. Slowly crouching down in front of him, Bakura's stare lifted to match with Ryou's... only for his entire being to tense at the blank expression that greeted him. Eyes glazed over, the boy's face remained completely emotionless as he stared into the abyss in front of him as though his yami wasn't even there.

"Ryou," Bakura addressed, firmer this time, but his response - or lack thereof - was still the same. Teeth gritted, he leaned forward further as he raised his hand to just in front of his hikari's face and snapped his fingers.

The boy's head suddenly jerked up, eyes widening at the other staring back at him for a few seconds, only for his expression to soften as he offered a slight smile. "H-Hi, Bakura."

The thief frowned. "Hey, Ryou," he responded cooly, analyzing his hikari's odd behavior. When his eyes had come alert again, the expression over his face was undeniable: Ryou hadn't recognized him. ))A concussion, perhaps?(( He noted, "you seem fairly rattled."

"I... I think I'm... a bit more than... r-rattled... Bakura." A frown setting itself over his features, Ryou's stare lifted to the mess surrounding him. He bit his lip at the sight of it, his eyes clamping shut as he dipped his head down... only for a hand to come and lift it back up for him.

"You look at me, alright? Focus." When the hikari nodded, Bakura's brow furrowed deeper. "What do you remember?"

He nodded again. "T-The car... c-car... car..." He suddenly shuddered horribly and shook his head, his hands shooting up to grip his skull for dear life as his fingers dug deep into his hair. "N-No, no, no, no, no!" He shouted, his knuckles turning white. "No!"

"Ryou, get a hold of yourself!" Bakura snapped, grabbing his hikari's wrists and forcing the boy's arms down. "Look. At. Me." He bit off, "I think you may have a concussion, so–"

The hikari shook his head limply, eyes going dull. "I... I'm... f-falling apart..."

"Dammit, boy, would you just shut up? You're not with it at all, are you? Just sit here and I'll get us to a hospital," he snapped, rising to his feet... only to freeze at the next words that touched the air.

"A-Already there..."

Bakura slowly turned, frown darkening. "...What?"

"A... a-about a... w-wee...week now..." Ryou gestured weakly to the door across the room, eyes fixed on the floor. "...C-Coma... c-ca...c-can't get out." His head sunk lower, his voice barely hearable, "...c-can't get out..."

The thief tensed, hands fisting at his sides. A week in coma? But wasn't that usually associated with...? His eyes shot wide. ))N-No... no, it can't...!((

Ryou's stare lifted to his frozen yami, tears streaming down his pale face. "I... I can't... t-think... B-Bakura... I c-can't... c-can't...!" He shook his head wildly, hair flying everywhere as pain and frustration echoed in his voice, "I _can't_!"

A shiver trailed down the thief spine, every instinct in him wanting to draw away... but he pushed himself to step closer instead. "R-Ryou...?" He whispered, but a sudden shudder passed through the room, making Bakura stumble as the room shook around them. When it stopped, everything was in far worse shambles then before... and Bakura wasted no more time in crouching down in front of his hikari once again. "Ryou, you have to..." he trailed off, his eyes caught by streams of crimson marking the other's pale skin along his arms.

Carefully taking the boy's wrist with no resistence met, Bakura scanned over the few bleeding gashes - each one of them no more than a few inches in length, but they weren't torn... the cuts were too clean. It was as though the skin had just split apart. It was then that the thief understood...

...Ryou's mind was collapsing.

He growled, a blazing fire igniting in his stare as his hands went to Ryou's face, forcing the boy to look at him. The tears that streamed from unfocused eyes made a pain flare in Bakura's chest like nothing he had ever known, but he forced himself to push through it as he stared straight into his hikari's own stare - fear evident in both of them.

"You listen to me, Ryou," Bakura growled, voice firm as he was careful not to touch the few gashes that had appeared over his host's face. "You're not giving up, understand? You're going to fight this off, because there's no way in hell you're ending like this, got it? No way in hell!"

Amongst streaming tears and pain woven into his core, Ryou offered a brittle smile. "I... I n-n-nee..." he stopped and bit his lip, trying again, "I n-nee... n-need... y-you t-to... p-pr-prom...ise... me... s-some...th-thing..."

The thief snarled. "Like _hell_! Ryou, don't even think about it! You're not damn-well leaving...! What would I do without you, hm? Fucking three thousand year old tomb robber can't operate a _microwave_ without cursing _something_ into oblivion!" He took the boy's trembling shoulders in his hands... or was he the one that was trembling? "You're not leaving me here alone, alright? I'm selfish like that! You're not allowed to fucking die, Ryou, do you understand me?!" His eyes stung sharply. "Y-You... you can beat this. You've overcome harder things, you just have to focus! Dammit, boy, you're going to be a lawyer! You're going to have a good, long life and get married and_ all_ that crap!_ UNDERSTAND_?!"

Another quake tore into the room, the bed Ryou sat on breaking... but Bakura grabbed him before he even began to fall. Stumbling to keep both their balance, the thief crouched down on the floor, arms supporting the nearly limp young man as Ryou's head rested against the tomb robber's shoulder. The room fell to pieces around them, walls revealing massive holes into the promising blackened abyss... and Bakura held on tighter. Arms wrapped protectively around his hikari as though that could shield him, the thief buried his face in Ryou's hair as he felt tears gleam down his cheeks... as though _that_ could shield _him_. Bakura gritted his teeth, trying in vain to ignore the blood soaking into the clothes, the blood beneath his hands... the blood that covered everything.

"...B-Baku...ra..." a frail voice came, a pale hand rising to lightly lay over the yami's tense arm.

The thief shuddered, just wanting to hold on tighter as tears fell freely down his face. The boy, this boy, was the only family he had left... how could he just let him go?! Ryou had saved him, been the only damn person that had still cared after everything he had done... and now he was just going to _leave_?!

"R-Ryou," Bakura spoke through gritted teeth, "y-you can't... you can't do this! You have to fight it...!"

The young man gave a small smile into his yami's blood-soaked shirt, a blessing numbness canceling out some of the gut-wrenching pain inside of him. "B-Ba...ku...ra..." he breathed, voice shallow, "p-pr...om...ise... m-me... y-you'll... be h-hap...py." He lifted his head slowly, staring up wearily into sharp eyes that had become red with tears. Concern weaving into his features, Ryou rose a shaky hand to his friend's face. "...Use... u-use m-m-my... b-bod...y... a-and be... h-ha-hap... h-happy... f-find it..."

"W-What...?" Bakura couldn't bear it. How many times had the thief used the body as his own? He couldn't even hope to _begin_ to count and, yet, holding the fading soul of his own reincarnation - his host - at that moment... Bakura didn't think Ryou could have asked for anything more impossible. He shook his head, eyes shut. "No. No, I won't! Dammit, Ryou... this... t-this is your life! You have to live it. I... I'm not you... I can't do t-this for you..."

"...Y-You... c-can..." he whispered, fighting to merely keep his eyes open. "...Y-You... w-will... f-for me... i-if not... y-yours-self..."

Bakura eyes opened, sorrow, fear and pain distorting his usually solid features. "No..." he choked out, "n-no, dammit...!"

The room suddenly tore, everything around them shattered like pieces of glass... Ryou's form following suit as his soul shredded into nothing right in Bakura's arms. The thief's haunting cry echoed around him as everything he had come to take for granted disintegrated like paper in water, hurling his mind into the darkness below.

* * *

**Three Years Later**

The radio suddenly blasted into the previously silent apartment at five in the morning, 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC revved up to the very highest pitch stirring a white haired man from his sleep as his eyes flickered open. A slight sigh slipped from his lips as he simply lay there amongst ruffed-up covers, allowing himself to listen to the song in peace.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Goddamn you, you fucking good for nothing shit-hole! Turn that crap down, some of us are trying to sleep!"

Sharp eyes rolled as irritation shifted his features in a tight snarl. Pushing himself up, he stretched his arms out lazily... and promptly crashed his fist into the wall beside him three times. "And some of us are trying to wake up, you pathetic, disease-infested maggot!" And, with that, he turned up the music louder as AC/DC finished off and was replaced by a blaring SR-71 with their song 'Goodbye.'

Swinging his legs to sit on the side of his bed, he let his arms rest on his knees as he rubbed his eyes sorely, trying in vain to rid himself of the images that still flashed in front of his eyes. Nightmares had always been the plague of his existence... but nowadays he prayed to dream of the massacre of Kul-Elna, he wished to be sent back into Zork's blood-stained clutches... anything, anywhere... if only he didn't have to see his hikari die in his arms yet again. Fate had always been cruel to his soul, whether it was ancient or modern, it didn't matter. It was as though he'd been marked - a scar that threaded into his flesh so deep that it would never leave him no matter now many lives he lived. Ryou had deserved more than that.

Bakura shook his head, eager to be rid of the memories as he rose to his feet... only to immediately fall forward and begin his morning session of push-up. Letting his mind blur, he lost count of the actual number he was doing as he allowed himself to just listen to the music blaring into his apartment, letting it drown him. Music was wonderful that way - how it was able to fill a deafening silence and choke away all the needless distractions... how you could lose yourself and not even care.

Hell, if music could kill someone, they'd probably die hollow and happy.

Bakura continued his routine as 'Breath' by Breaking Benjamin played through, followed by 'Time of Dying' by Three Days Grace, 'Cold' by Crossfade, and countless other songs that all began to blur together. Eventually, however, Bakura did shift and rise back to his feet to take a shower with 'Remember' by Disturbed playing into his apartment. The hot water for his shower had long-since died out as he stood beneath the downfall, one hand on the tiled wall beside him with his brow furrowed deeply in thought.

He was keeping his promise.

He had lived on.

Moved on.

Pushed on.

No matter how tired he got of this world, he had to uphold his hikari's dying wish and, so far, three years had felt a hell of a lot longer with half of his soul missing. However, he did enjoy his work, if nothing else, so he truly did have no real right to complain.

Shaking his head clear, Bakura quickly turned off the water and cleaned himself up, looking into the mirror for a second just to see what kind of mess had become his hair today. With a bit of a ruffle here and there with his hands, he deemed it fit enough and changed into a black shirt and a pair of faded jeans with holes in the knees. Walking back into his apartment, he quickly pocketed his wallet, keys, and switchblade before turning off the radio and heading out the door with a loud SLAM that seemed to echo all through the floors.

He smirked to himself, sticking his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans, and silently wondered if anyone was going to show up high or hungover today.

The days at the garage were long and hard, but he enjoyed it. After dropping out of law school, he had instead turned towards automotive mechanics. Granted, in today's culture, you practically needed to be part electrician to work with cars, but Bakura had been determined to learn. He spent two years in night school - paid for with clusters of different jobs - and learnt his way around the blue-collar environment. He had figured out early on that he preferred the older vehicles than the newer ones, but each make posed its own challenge and he enjoyed piecing the different puzzles together all the same.

It was all a puzzle to him... and one that let him work with his hands, so all the better. He had taken many different jobs over the past three years, but this one was the only one that had stuck so far. He liked his boss (a miracle) and the other mechanics knew to leave him the hell alone (miracle number two). He doubted that he would find a better fit... or, at least, a better legalized fit. He wanted to do at least that much right.

Giving the engine a final once-over, Bakura straightened his back with an audible CRACK before reaching up and slamming down the hood of the 2004 Chevy three-quarter-ton Silverado. This had been the second time he had had to fix it too... but it would be so much easier to just 'fix' the owner. He insisted on revving the shit out of it every time he got in, thus wearing out and breaking down practically everything.

Grabbing a towel from the workbench nearby, the white haired man leaned back against the clustered, steel table and wiped down his hands and face to get rid of any grease, leaving only slight black smears over pale skin instead of blobs. Sharp eyes lifted across the garage as a familiar face entered and was greeted, of course, by the owner who walked up and shook hands. Bakura watched as they approached and the keys were handed over, knowing silently that it would be back in no time at all. He knew that these sorts of drivers were the biggest supporters of garages, but that didn't change the fact that ignorance pissed him off.

His boss smirked at the annoyed expression over his employee's features as the man got into the truck, revved her up way too high, and sped backwards before swinging onto the road with no mercy once or ever. It was a bloody shame.

"Just look at the dollar signs, Baku," the older man kidded, black hair shaggy but somehow remaining a clean-cut appearance... for in a garage anyway. "People like that are good for business."

Bakura said nothing for a moment, only to close his eyes just as the man was about to walk off. "I told you not the call me that."

"And I told you to drop the attitude." He smirked over his shoulder. "We can't always get what we want, _Baku_. Now, get to work on that Jaguar that came in the other day. Apparently, the bloody thing keeps stalling. Find out why by the end of today and I'll let you take a spin in it."

The white haired employee just smirked and pushed off from the workbench, tossing his cloth aside absentmindedly as he went to get the keys from the office. It was a silver, 2001 XKR Silverstone, a real beauty of a car that they didn't usually get in... but the word of a top-rate mechanic working for Johnson's Garage had spread rather quickly. Apparently, other garages have tried to find the problem with this certain silver bullet... now it was his turn.

Getting it into the shop took a few minutes, it stalled if you didn't give it gas right away when starting it, but it would also stall for what seemed like no reason at all. Once in the garage, he immediately popped the hood to get a good look at what he was dealing with here, checking every piece of the engine out separately and making mental notes of possible problems and which pieces looked as though they had been fiddled with by another garage. He was already lost on his own train of thought when a voice spoke from the front of the shop, the familiarity in it bringing him back into the real world. At first he didn't recognize it completely, only jarring him enough to make him stop and listen from beneath the hood.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I was wondering if you could help me?"

He heard his boss chuckle. "I'll certainly do what I can. What seems to be the problem?"

"Well... I was wondering where I could find somewhere to... um..." she seemed to struggle for the right word, "to... 'lease' a car? I'm sorry, usually good with my English but it seems my brain isn't really working this morning..."

"It's okay, I understand just fine," he returned. "What is that accent anyway? Oriental, right?"

"Yes. Japanese."

"I thought so," his boss responded kindly. "Now, as for a _rental_ car, there are several around. What exactly were you hoping for, Miss...?"

"Oh, um, Gardner. Tea Gardner."

Bakura shot up, only to smash his head on the hood with a CRACK that almost seemed to echo through the garage. Cursing to all lowly and above, he held a hand to his head painfully, knees buckling slightly, as his other arm braced himself up on the car, just waiting for the stars to stop circling.

"Hey, Baku? You alright there or are you planning on passing out?"

Shaking his head clear, his stare shot up as his boss came up beside the car... and so did she. His eyes narrowed as hers flew wide in surprise, a slight growl rising from his throat as he watched her recognize him immediately as Ryou... only to suddenly correct herself a mere second later as her features froze in slight fear.

"It's you...!" She gasped, blue eyes wide with the dark stains of jetleg set under them. "B-But... how...?"

He snarled, his glare quickly turning lethal as his hands fisted, one holding his wrench so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. She looked nearly the same as she did eight years ago, brown hair cut just above her shoulders and clothes pulled right out of the latest fashion magazine. She was wearing a white shirt beneath a turquoise jacket that had a single button done up near the collar, allowing the rest to flare open, along with a pale-blue, flared skirt. For the first time in her life she wasn't wearing high-socks, just a pair of white sandals with a slight heel to boost her overall height. Just seeing her made him sick. She was a face from that cursed city on the other side of the world, a place that he had tried his best to forget and move on from... and now here it was being thrown in his face again! Why couldn't the world just leave him the hell alone?!

"Ah, so you know each other." The older man sweatdropped at the two expressions. "Well, that saves introduc–" He blinked as his employee spun on his heel and disappeared into the back of the shop without so much as a word, throwing his wench on the workbench as he passed it. The owner couldn't help but raise a brow. "...Okay then." Suddenly, he saw a movement flash beside him... and he could only watch as she took off into the back as well. He sighed heavily, deciding to follow slowly for damage-control purposes. "The pretty ones are always suicidal..."

In the back of the shop, Bakura's hope to put space between himself and the insufferable wench was being demolished by the second.

"How can you be back?!" He heard her voice practically shriek behind him, words stringing off in Japanese, "Atemu defeated you and sealed you into the Shadow Realm eight years ago!"

He refused to speak that language, countering in English, "don't remind me." He growled darkly without turning, memories of blood splattering across his mind... accompanied by the soft voice of hope that now haunted him every night.

He scowled and marched past two other mechanics working on a Ford (those vehicles need two), sending them a glare on his way past that practically _dared_ them to comment. Of course, they had become wiser since his first day here and kept their traps shut.

"Stop walking away from me!" She demanded heatedly, switching to English, as if she could really make him do _anything_. "I want to speak to Ryou!"

He froze in his tracks, his entire form bristling as she came to an abrupt stop behind him as well, nearly knocking into him to the point of being forced to retreat a step. His hands tightened even further at his sides, knuckles turning white, as a sharp snarl lifted his features, face swallowed by the shadows of his wild bangs. That single name ran through his mind over and over again, twisting and churning within him like a virus that tore into every fiber of his being. A sharp agony stabbed his chest, fresh and cruel.

"Where's Ryou?" She questioned, worry dampening her words. "I want to talk to him, now!"

How cruel fate loved to be to him. To bring one of _them_ to him like this, to have them demand the impossible... how much longer did the Gods intend to torture him?

"Don't ignore me!" She yelled, anger flaring. "You can't block him out like this! It's his life! Let me talk to him right now, Zork!"

Bakura snarled. "Ryou's gone, you insolent fool!" He spun, towering over her with cold murder written in his eyes. "Ryou's gone and he's not coming back, _understand_?!"

She froze, dread spilling into her features as she stared up at her old enemy. The colour drained from her face, yet she still managed to whisper out a cluster of words that made her heart twist painfully in her chest. "...What did you do?" She asked, fear constricting around her like a snake.

"'What did I _do_'?!" He echoed, features twitching with strain as he fought against his own violent desires. "I KILLED HIM!"

Tea's breath caught, eyes widening in disbelief against the murderous glare of the ancient thief as the world turned deathly silent. Heart thundering in her ears, she shook her head slowly as her eyes stung with unshed tears. She had to force words out of her constricted throat, a tightness having settled over her chest making it hard to breathe.

"I... I don't believe you..." she whispered, a single hand clenched above her chest as she refused to look out of those sharp eyes. She wanted to see the lie, the deception... she wanted to see a warmth flicker forward as that quiet boy no one bothered to notice tried to rise forward. She couldn't dare look away - just in case she missed the sign she was begging to see. But, no matter how hard she looked, nothing changed. A single tear escaped from her eye, tracing a path down her cheek. "I don't believe you!" She all but cried out. "Let me see Ryou!"

Bakura snarled, fists clenched so tight they shook at his sides. "Stop saying his name, you little bitch! The boy is _dead_! Deal with it and leave me _alone_!" He went to whip around on his heel, only for a hand to snatch out just as fast and catch his shoulder, spinning him back around with surprising strength to face its owner.

"LIKE _YOU_ LEFT HIM ALONE?!" She screamed, eyes practically engulfed in flames and face twisted with grief, pain, and anger. "LIKE _YOU_ LEFT _HIM_?! He never did anything to you! To _anybody_! Do you even _get_ how _rare_ that is?!"

He shoved her away, pointing at her threateningly. "Don't you _dare_ assume to know the first _thing_ about that boy! You don't even have the right to speak his _name_ let alone claim to _understand_ him!"

"Says the one that _KILLED HIM_!"

Bakura flinched despite himself, the pain that was already scorching him intensifying in his chest like each word in that small sentence was its own blade. However, the pain only managed to fuel his rage, not numb it. He clenched his teeth, fighting against his own impulses and violent desires. He could already feel it on him - how her neck would feel beneath his hands as he squeezed her throat shut; how the bones would jerk under his touch as he snapped one after another, each accompanied by a scream and more blood splatter on his face. It all played out in his mind even as he shook to keep it back... until he realized that one he was torturing was no longer Gardner... but Ryou instead.

))N-No!(( He grounded his teeth, eyes sharpening against the fuming mortal brat before him. "Get the hell away from me!" He tried to turn again, but once again she stopped him dead. His blood boiled dangerously hot, mind blurring as the world seemed to flicker between red and black - leaving him disoriented beneath that stone mask that was miraculously still in place over his twitching features. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"You want me to leave so badly why not just kill me too?!" Tea shot back fiercely, stepping up even closer in fiery challenge. "You can show all us 'pathetic mortals' what 'true strength' is, you demon! Spreading the pain is exactly what you do best, isn't it?! Tell me: what exactly did Ryou do to deserve death?! Why kill him?!_ WHY_?!"

"NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSI–"

SLAP!!!

The echo of that single action seem to spread for minutes, leaving a silence in its wake that would have made it possible to hear a needle drop. Her lightning hand had left its mark on his cheek with a blazing fire, the force having snapped his head around with his eyes clamped shut in stain, jaw already throbbing painfully from being clenched too tight. All the sounds of the world around him died... except for the voice of that one. Single. Bitch.

Tea was breathing heavily as she lowered her stinging hand back to her side, tears welling in her eyes as she tried her best to remain strong. "Tell. Me. The. Tr–"

"_SHUT UP_!"

His knuckles suddenly stung, but he easily ignored it as the raging fires of Hell watched the figure before him sprawl across the floor with agony torn across her features. He didn't even stop to think. There was no thinking at this point. He flashed forward before anyone else could move, planting his boot in her stomach as the jar driven from such an act drove up his leg, a sensation as familiar to him as breathing as she struggled to do just that.

"Where's your beloved Pharaoh _now_?!" Bakura sneered, face practically torn by his own snarl.

His stare shot up at a shout, instincts kicking in as he leapt back just in time to dodge a punch from someone who was but a silhouette in a field of blood red. Bakura shot out a blind kick the second he landed, feeling contact with the assault, but little else. There was no satisfaction in this, these were mere decoys! Gardner was his target! He wouldn't waste his time on these imbeciles, he had to make her pay!

Rage blasted itself through his mind, his own drumming pulse deafening the former thief to the calls around him as he fought against faceless puppets. Hands grabbed him, snaring his clothes and hair in some vain attempt to pin him down... but, the tighter they tried to hold him, the looser Bakura's grip on reality became. He could only grit his teeth tighter as the world around him flickered like a failing lightbulb, each change drilling him with sights that tore fear straight into his core.

"Get away from me! Let me go! _LET ME GO_!"

Darkness overtook the world in an instant, the mere humans on him mutating right before his eyes into demons the likes of which had only found him in his nightmares. Claws sunk into his flesh where they all held his shaking form, blood streaming over him in torrents as they pulled him down - restraining him, binding him... until a new set of claws curled around his shoulders. He cried out in pain at the fresh wounds, his struggling only become more desperate... as he was met by a pair of blood-thirsty red eyes.

"N-No...!" Fear strained his words, his struggling turning weaker, "by the Gods, no! I... I can't take it again...! I w-won't go back! You can't make me...! L-Let me go, just let me _GO_...!"

The hold on his shoulders shook him harshly as a voice finally broke through into his hearing, "Bakura, _stop_!_ PLEASE_!"

"_Bakura, s-stop! Pl-Please!"_

He jerked, eyes flying to the one holding him back as the world jolted back into normalcy. Fearful, dark green eyes stared past shaggy black bangs to catch Bakura's own hazel glare, not even showing the least bit of malice against the unstable man as the former thief's mind scrambled to catch up. The grip on his shoulders only tightened with the eye-contact, as though that act alone would keep the employee's attention from slipping away.

"Bakura, just take it easy." Edward practically ordered, determination and desperation both clear amongst the fear in his stare. "Take a minute."

He growled through heavy breathing, eyes narrowing as he pulled half-heartedly against those that held his arms from behind. "Let go of me, y-you fools."

"Don't even start," his boss snapped right back. "Don't act tough, I can damn-well _feel_ you shaking, you idiot!"

"_What's wrong, Ryou? Not enjoying yourself? Cower all you want, I'm not going away. Not now, not __**ever**__."_

"SHUT UP!" Bakura yelled at the top of his lungs, startling the three mechanics that had hold of him enough so as to be able to rip free of their grasps, his trembling hands flying up to grip his head for dear life. Knees buckling slightly and knuckles turning white with his fingernails digging into his scalp, he shook his head in a vain effort to make the voice shut up - his own voice. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"_Scream, boy... scream until your lungs fill with blood."_

A second voice battled to be heard over the first as the grip on his shoulders tightened, "Bakura, look at me! NOW! BAKURA!"

"_After all, no one hears screams of the mind."_

He didn't have the strength for this. He couldn't do it... he couldn't...

))Someone make it shut up... anyone...((

"Bakura, dammit, clue in!"

His eyes eased open slightly in an exhausted daze, looking past his boss to the others... but he didn't see the figures of two other mechanics gathered protectively around a battered girl. Instead, he saw the blood - rivers of it - all flowing from the broken body of his hikari. Dull, unfocused eyes stared back at the former thief like those of a doll - completely lifeless, filled only by the void and nothing else. Bakura couldn't look away, the accusation in those empty eyes capturing his very soul in icy hands. His breath all but slid away, his features twitching restlessly as he fought a battle that no one could see... nor understand.

"Bakura, come on! Say something!"

))M-Make it s-stop.(( His eyes burned, threatening to show him for what he was. ))Please...((

The hold shook him. "Bakura, snap out of it!"

))S-Someone make it _STOP_!(( He ripped free. "**GET AWAY FROM ME**!"

Dodging past everyone, he barely made it to the washroom in the far back, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it securely before nearly collapsing onto the sink. Blasting water from the tap, he splashed the cold liquid over his face again and again and again, soaking his hair and shirt as he desperately tried to get rid of this feeling that crawled beneath his skin. He rubbed his face and eyes, trying to still his twitching features... only to give up as all strength left him. He slid down to the floor, resting his back against the wall behind him in the cramped space that was more like a closet than anything else. His eyes burned, the white splintered with red lines as he fought to regain himself.

))Ryou... it's all my fault...((

Over the sound of rushing water from the tap, he heard a knock on the door beside him. "Bakura? Are you alright?" Of course, it was Edward. The only dumb fuck who would still bother with him.

He rested his head back against the dirt-smeared wall behind him, red eyes staring up to the dull light above him in a daze. His world blurred around him, the white light merging with the dirt-smeared white of the sink and the pale brown walls. The water continued to belt into the sink, the rushing sound nearly hypnotic as it seemed to beckon to him, asking him to let it take him somewhere else... somewhere where _they_ wouldn't find him; somewhere where he wouldn't find himself.

He'd go in a heartbeat.

"Bakura?"

He closed his eyes, forcing some iota of strength into his voice to keep it from cracking. Even still, it didn't seem nearly loud enough to be heard by anyone, except maybe himself. "Just... give me a minute," he choked out.

A minute worth an eternity.

* * *

Edward Johnson found himself standing on the opposite side of his garage's bathroom door in nearly a daze. His thoughts gnawed at him relentlessly as he listened to the pelting water from the tap on the other side, not really wanting to leave his mechanic when he seemed so near a breakdown... but, in reality, he had other things to take care of. He had to turn and walk away for now... something he'd never done to any of his employees ever since he'd opened his business.

((You idiot.)) He sighed heavily, one arm curled around his mid-section where Bakura had managed to kick him during his episode. ((I haven't seen you like that in years... how could one girl throw you so far back?))

"That kid's nuts."

Ed turned at the voice, finding none other than Diago, his oldest employee, coming up to stand with him. The short man should have been retired years ago, but too many poor choices had landed the fool on the street as a bum. Finding himself fallen too many decades behind, no one wanted to hire someone with no highschool diploma, no clean clothes, and no home. Ed hired him less than a year ago and now that same bum has an apartment downtown. Not much, but a start... and quite a late one.

His hair cut a bit on the long side with the beginnings of a bald-spot in the middle and a trimmed mustache over his mouth, the man's cold eyes glared at the closed door before turning to his boss. "Go deal with that little girl before the boys get too involved with all this 'helping'."

The middle-aged man glanced to where the rest of his employees, four in all, were gathered around where the young woman was still trying to recover from the assault. No one seemed to know what to do so, at the moment, they were doing to smart thing - waiting for him. How long that would last, Ed wasn't sure... nor did he really want to find out.

The employer took one step towards the scene, only to stop and glance back at Diago - a question present in his eye.

The old man's stare narrowed, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back against the wall. "I'll wait," he spoke gruffly, tone uncaring.

Edward smirked. "I owe you one."

"Neh, I'm just repaying my own debt... so get going already."

Turning, the owner of the garage stiffly made his way back to where that same 'pretty girl' from before was collapsed over the floor, half-way propped up on one elbow with her other arm wrapped protectively around her stomach and her legs curled up. Hair in disarray, her tears where mostly silent as they glided down pale cheeks from closed eyes, leaving a stain of mascara in their wake as she choked back any sounds the best she could. Her cheek was beginning to swell, having already taken a purplish tint.

The owner shooed his other mechanics away at his approach, only signaling one to stay close to help him. Carefully, he crouched down. "'Gardner,' right?" He began speaking quietly, "Blain and I are going to help you up. We'll bring you to the break room... at least, there you'll have somewhere comfortable to sit... that sound okay?"

He just got a slight nod.

"Alright, here we go." Taking one arm, Edward waited for his chosen employee to take the other before carefully pulling Tea up onto her feet. "We'll go slow and steady, alright? Just breathe. Good... Chris, get the damn door, would you?"

One step at a time, the three made their way into the break room at the back of the shop. A young kid, perhaps twelve, practically flew ahead of them to do as he was asked, face pale against shaggy brown hair and pale blue eyes that were far more experienced than they should be at his age. The other two mechanics mostly lagged back, glaring off in the direction of the washroom - one of which stringing off numerous curses towards a certain white haired freak.

Tea blinked repeatedly, trying to gather her senses together as she glanced around the room she was brought into. An old couch was pushed against one wall along with an armchair which were both directed at a table in the center of the room that supported a bulky television. Rickety end-tables were piled high with magazines, empty beer cans, and overfilled ashtrays. On the other side of the room was an old fridge, a microwave on a wobbly desk, and a square table that was left relatively clean for eating.

"Alright, you can sit down right here on the sofa."

Tea did as she was told to, too shaken to do anything else. Her entire head throbbed painfully and the pain in her stomach just made it harder to take the deep breaths she needed to calm herself. In all honesty, she felt really sick. Her insides felt like they were tied in knots while her mind seemed to have blown a fuse completely... she just couldn't believe what just happened was real. No one had ever... punched her before.

Just thinking about it made her stomach lurch.

She tentatively coiled her arms around herself, seeking whatever comfort such an effort would bring. The young woman shivered, closing her eyes in some vain hope that all of this was only a nightmare... but, even when doing so, she could feel the swollen flesh of her cheek. A cruel reminder that wouldn't be leaving her for quite a while now... much like the vision of the demon's enraged eyes that were now burned into her memory. Tea couldn't help but bite her lip slightly, realization landing in one giant heap that she was lucky to have come out of that not only alive, but also capable of general movement. He'd planned to kill her. The only reason he hadn't was...

Her eyes lifted as something settled around her... a tattered blanket. Blue eyes glanced up to the one offering such kindness - the same man who had greeted her when she had first arrived. He was probably in his mid-forties. His shaggy black hair didn't even go past his chin and his bangs nearly concealed his stern, green eyes as well as a ragged scar that started at the bridge of his nose and ended across his left cheek. He wore the same kind of dark blue, button-up work shirt that everyone else had on - a pale blue 'JG' scribbled on the pocket - overtop of a white tee and he had on a pair of ragged jeans.

She thanked him quietly, bringing the blanket around herself a little tighter.

He nodded. "I'll get an ice-pack for your head too. Do you want an Advil or anything?"

"I... I have some in my purse."

"Water then. Coming right up."

She just watched as he turned and went over to what she assumed was another employee where he stood waiting in muted silence on the other side of the room. Ed spoke to him quietly as to make sure she couldn't eavesdrop, but Tea caught his nervous stare flickering between her and his boss more than once from beneath a messy cluster of dark blue hair on top of his head. Then, in what felt like just a blink of an eye, he nodded a few times and left.

"Violence always rattles him."

Tea's stare jerked back to the middle-aged man, only to find him offering not only a kind, understanding smile, but also an ice pack and a glass of water. She carefully took both items, setting the latter down on the crowded coffee table in front of her before placing the former lightly against her cheek. In any case, she found the comment pointless - who _doesn't_ get rattled by violence?

Inwardly, she sighed, nearly wanting to roll her eyes. ((Zork, of course. Pegasus, Marik's darkness, Dartz, Rex, Weevil, Rapheal, Valon, Kaiba, Noah...)) She knew the list could go on, but she didn't feel like letting it. Those years were over, the people nothing but memories. ((Yugi.)) She let her eyes slid shut, her stiff muscles relaxing ever so slightly into the couch. ((What are you doing now? ...And Joey? Tristan? Serenity? Duke?))

Quickly, she banished such thoughts from her mind. They wouldn't help her here, she was on her own. Wallowing in the past would do as much good as slamming her head into a brick wall at this point. Pressing a little too hard with the ice pack, Tea couldn't help but scowl slightly when she cringed.

((Zork _hits_ like a ton of bricks.))

"Miss Gardner?"

The young woman's eyes lifted to her only company - now seated in the matching armchair to the couch. The concern in his features was a welcome change from how most strangers treat one another - a certain protocol that she'd gotten her full of before her flight to London had even taken off from the airport.

Carefully, she offered a brittle smile and forced her manners to the surface. "Thank you for helping me, sir. You're very kind."

His brow furrowed a bit, but it seemed to be more for concern than any trace of a temper. "You don't need to thank me, Miss." But then he seemed to jump into what he really wanted to know, "how are you feeling? Do you feel dizzy? Do you want me to call the hospital?"

"I feel a little dizzy," she admitted, stubbornly blinking back tears when she began to feel that familiar sting in her eyes. "It... just throbs a bit, but I'll be fine."

She wouldn't cry. Not for this. Not like this.

He nodded slightly. "You seem to have a knack for getting under Bakura's skin."

Tea shrugged helplessly, not quite knowing how to respond. "I didn't know he esca–" she stopped herself short at her choice of wording, choosing to quickly insert another word instead that really didn't do the situation justice at all. (('Justice'... _justice_ would be Ryou being alive and that _demon_ still being sealed away!)) "I didn't know he was still around."

"If it is no nevermind to you, Miss Gardner, I'd rather not talk about whatever past he's had with you."

Tea smirked inwardly, but it was a dead gesture on the outside when she looked at him. "I understand. What you don't know, you don't have to act upon."

He frowned, an odd look settling over his features. "Lady, I don't know what kind of garage you think I'm running here, but all I meant was that it's _Bakura's_ past to tell. If he wants me to know, then he can tell me himself. If he doesn't... then I'm alright with that."

Suddenly, despite the man's kindness to her, Tea felt a pang of bitterness scorch her system as her hands drew into slight fists at her side. "You're _alright_ with the possibility of employing a thief, murderer, or worse?"

Edward's dark green eyes studied the woman for a minute, organizing his words in his mind until he had them exactly the way he wanted. "Once you hit bottom, there truly is only one way to go." Having said that, he offered a slight smile despite the scorned look he was being given in return. "Miss Gardner, did you see my 'Help Wanted' ad in the front window? It says 'Hiring: whoever needs the work.' It's.. an invitation, of sorts. I will employ _anyone_ who comes to me with nowhere else to go. People who've fallen too far into a hole and can't reach any other ropes to get themselves out. Drug addicts, drug dealers, prostitutes, alcoholics, runaways, homeless, criminals... as long as they're willing to work, I'll give it to them."

Tea blinked, not believing she'd heard right. "But... w-why would...?"

"Some people need a little help finding the light at the end of the tunnel, Miss Gardner. I try to point them in the right direction. It's the purpose I've given to my life - the purpose of this entire _shop_," he said the last part with the laugh, motioning around to the building surrounding them. "My little brother chose a different way of helping society. He's a doctor at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London. He heals the injured and sick, while I give a leg-up to the forgotten. It's sort of a... family operation, if you will."

The young woman's frown deepened, her gaze shifting to her lap where she just realized she was strangling the life out of the ice pack - the blue liquid within looking just about ready to burst through the plastic any second now. She forced herself to relax the best she could, letting her shoulders lower as she released the stressed item from her clutches... which now looked horribly wrenched out of shape. The only comment she heard was a slight chuckle from her company, to which she responded with a quiet 'sorry' as she tried to reshape the mangled pack back into its previous state. However, before she could, it was smoothly taken from her grasp.

"It's warm now anyway," he explained shortly, rising. "I'll get you another."

As she was once again left alone for a handful of minutes, Tea recounted Ed's words in her mind. His concept was admirable, that much went without saying, but... it didn't explain the presence of Zork. Why would a demon obsessed with power and world domination apply for work at a downtown garage? The very last thing he'd be looking for is 'light at the end of the tunnel', so what exactly was it that drew the being here? Zork was darkness - he created the Shadow Realm itself, after all. His only real goal had ever been to spread pain, fear, and chaos... or was _that_ the answer in itself?

This garage... with the combination of so many people with dark histories... could Zork be growing off of it? With the chaos that is sure to come with ex-addicts and criminals, it could very well be possible that, with the door itself closed, he's attempting to use peoples' tainted auras to grow more powerful in order to one day smash the gate open again. It sounded possible...

When Edward returned, Tea gratefully accepted the new ice pack, but her concern had since shifted onto something else besides a swollen cheek. "How long has he... been working here?" She asked timidly.

Taking his seat once more, Ed frowned a bit as he sunk into the worn piece of furniture. "Hn... over two years, for sure... maybe going on to three now. Honestly, I hadn't been planning to hire him at all once I found out about his education level, but... as stupid as it may sound, his eyes convinced me otherwise. He needed this place, so I hired him."

Tea frowned. "What about his education?"

Edward smirked. "He had been attending one of the top Law schools in England, only to drop out. That kind of person... normally they would be set for life. I still don't know what took him down, but he's on our level now - my level. He's a good employee, Miss Gardner." He gave a lopsided smile. "He's just not exactly what you would refer to as 'chummy'."

((Ryou... was going to Law school?)) Tea blinked, trying to picture the quiet boy from her memory as a lawyer... but the two images just refused to mesh. It was like picturing Kaiba working at Burger World - more like the punch-line to a joke than anything remotely close to reality. "That's..." she had no words to continue the thought.

"Horrifying?" Ed offered, smirking wildly. "Cold eyes, cutting wit, even sharper tongue... I would pity any poor fool caught under his dissection in the courtroom. Even if you were innocent, you'd land up confessing to _something_!" He laughed.

Tea forced a small laugh, not being able to manage much more.

_Blazing rage._

_Demon eyes._

She was barely able to hide the shudder that passed through her core.

Zork was much greater a threat than any mere lawyer could ever be... he was _the_ master of destruction and chaos, misery and agony. His pleasure and gain came from the pain and loss of others... it was the only purpose to his entire existence...

She sighed. ((Well, one can't deny the big similarities between the two. He'd suit the job well.))

"_I hear the Shadow Realm's lovely this time of year..."_

A second cold shiver trailed down Tea's spine and she shut her eyes, wishing the memories away that threaten to overwhelm her. She couldn't show weakness now, she had to stay strong if she was going to face the demon that had stalked them for years back in Domino City... but, what she really wanted was for Yugi to be here supporting her. Every other time that they had been forced to face Zork, Yugi had been there... every time except now. However, even if his presence would have been a comfort to her, it would still be a moot point - Yugi didn't have the Puzzle anymore.

"_Perhaps you could use the Pharaoh's help after all! You __**pathetic mortal**__!"_

She tensed, remembering back to the only person who had stood against and defeated this same evil time and time again... someone long-since passed from this world. ((Atemu... you would know what to do - how to face him. He was_ your_ enemy... why does all of this have to start again?)) She closed her eyes, wanting to bring her arms around herself again... but she settled for just strangling the life out of the second cold pack she'd been given so far. ((Can we even do this without you?))

"_It seems the tables have__** turned**__!"_

* * *

And there you have it: chapter one.

If anyone is wondering why I gave Bakura stone-coloured eyes in his soulroom and hazel eyes with the body, it's my way of connecting 'Yami Bakura' to the Thief King of the past. Since their forms in their minds would be more representative of their true selves, I felt it alright to make the colour change. However, the body of Ryou Bakura has brown eyes so... hazel. :)

This story is... bloody long. I know where I want to go with it and how to get there, so, really, it's just a matter of figuring out how to word things. Then again... the infamous writer's blocks seem to have my home phone number so... ya, we'll just see how it goes. XD

Tea is NOT my forte, I will warn you right now. I have an extremely difficult time getting into her shoes... while Ryou and Bakura come rather easily. I do have Hakurei Ryuu to guide me with her though, so we should be alright. XD

Well? Love it? Hate it? Want more of it? Questions? Dumbstruck? Let me know! :)


	2. The Torch of Blame

**Chapter Two: The Torch of Blame**

One update per year... yes, that sounds about right for me. Would it help if I apologized?

...Didn't think so.

Alright, so I get distracted easily, what can I say? I got caught into a new fandom (Soul Eater ftw) and Gaia Online (addictive shit). But... at least I updated? Could be worse, people. Some of my favorite fanfics have been abandoned in mid-battle-climax. Yeah, and you think YOU have it bad.

Once again, I want to thank the lovely **Hakurei Ryuu **for 'tisk tasking' me until I updated at least ONE of my stories! And for being the best beta ever, of course~

**Thank you to my reviewers! I love hearing from you so keep it up!**

_Hakurei Ryuu:_ That is true~ Hehe. Well, grammar has never been my strongest point, but I like to pretend I'm getting better at it. LMAO ah, so I'm so awesome that I almost wait for the anniversary of the first chapter to upload chapter two? Oh, yeah, that's awesome alright. XD And I hope I do continue to get readers despite my... disappearance from fanfiction~ ^^U Thanks for everything, hun!

_BladeOfCrimson:_ LMAO yeah, all the chapters in this story are going to be long. I think in the long run it's better - I get more done, you get more to read. It's all good~ Thanks for the review!

_YamiBakura1988:_Thank you, thank you, yep, and does nearly a year count as 'soon'? XD

_EgyptianSoul.88:_Thank you very much, I'm glad I was able to do that for you! Yes, both characters are very tragic... but that's also why we love them, isn't it? We're all a touch sadistic that way (me more than just a touch but whatever XD)! Thanks for the review~

_Eternal Eyes:_ I'm glad, I hope to continue that for this chapter... no promises, but I hope so! Uh, yeah, all chapters are going to be insanely long. Better that way for everyone. XD Thank you for the review!

_Mizuki hikari:_Here ya go~

_Crystale no otaku:_ Thank you very much! Hope you enjoy the update!

_Blue Demon:_ Thank you, I'm trying my best to keep everything very fresh and original. Yeah, the manga and anime completely failed Bakura and Ryou, no doubt. -_-U I hope you like the update!

_Defenestration of the Mind:_ Uh, wow. Thank you so very much - I'm flattered. ^^U Yes, I'm hoping to keep this story as far away from 'predictable' as possible but I guess that's up to you to decide in the end. Yes, grammar is my enemy. -_-U I have improved though, I assure you! Thanks for the wonderful review! Hope to hear from you again!

_Lady sesshomaru-sama:_ Thank you! Hope you enjoy the update!

_Earthluva:_Heh. Thank you! You're very kind. Hope you like the update!

**HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL AGAIN!** And you! Yes, you who didn't review! I want to know what you think so drop me a line. The more reviews I get, the quicker the updates. XD

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I do own my characters so back off, they're mine!

* * *

**Lucifer's Angel  
**_by: The Rasmus_

Behind those eyes lies the truth and grief  
Behind those beautiful smiles, I've seen tragedy  
The flawless skin hides the secrets within  
Silent forces that secretly ignite your sins

Fly away, fly away  
From the torch of blame  
They hunt you  
The Lucifer's Angel  
Never lived, never died  
Your life has been denied  
They call you  
Lucifer's Angel

Beyond these clouds you can hide all your tears  
Beyond this world you'll be safe from their wicked fears  
And in their hearts they fear your demands  
You know their minds won't accept you, they'll never understand

Fly away, fly away  
From the torch of blame  
They hunt you  
The Lucifer's Angel  
Never lived, never died  
Your life has been denied  
They call you  
Lucifer's Angel

On your own - I know you can make it  
Truth or bone - I know you can shake it  
Survive alone - know you can take it

Fly away, fly away  
From the torch of blame  
They hunt you  
The Lucifer's Angel  
Never lived, never died  
Your life has been denied  
They call you  
Lucifer's Angel

Fly away, fly away  
Run away, run away  
Hide away, hide away  
Lucifer's Angel

Fly away, fly away  
Run away, run away  
Hide away, hide away  
Lucifer's Angel

Fly away, fly away  
Run away, run away  
Hide away, hide away  
Lucifer's Angel

* * *

Fingers pushed through his hair, Bakura's elbows rested on his knees as he stared blankly at the floor in front of him. Water still blasted from the tap above him, pelting down into the sink with such force that drops of water would splash back up onto the mirror and sometimes down onto him on the floor. The sound alone relaxed him, allowing his breathing to steady and his mind to rewire itself back into a normal pace... but the drain he felt on mind and body was even heavier now. The weight that he carried with him day to day was suddenly too much... just... too much.

He was tired, a state that no amount of sleep would ever cure him from. He could sleep for a week - hell, make it a year or more - and it still wouldn't be enough. This was the stress of over three thousand years worth of memories built one on top of the other on top of the other, a strain that the human mind wasn't meant to withstand. It could handle a hundred years usually, and even then it was permitted to forget. Bakura's mind was different; altered. Every minute of every day in his life, death, and imprisonment... he could remember it all as if it had all happened this morning. Nothing ever faded. Nothing.

))How much longer...?(( He closed his eyes tiredly. ))How much longer, Ryou?((

"_...Use... u-use m-m-my... b-bod...y... a-and be... h-ha-hap... h-happy... f-find it..."_

His brow tightened at the voice sounding in his head, one that was choking on its own blood. His host had asked of him to find happiness... but how would you even begin such a search? He hadn't a clue. Bakura had simply stepped into the flow of a modern life. Gotten a job or two. Rented an apartment. Annoyed his neighbours. Just... life. He did like working with cars, he would admit that much, but was he really happy...?

If he were to be honest, he would have to admit that he wasn't even sure what being happy would entail. What did it even mean? He supposed that was another thing that Ryou understood naturally.

"_Where's your beloved Pharaoh __**now**__?"_

Bakura was rage and hate. That's all he had known as 'emotions' in his unusually-lengthy span of existence. He had known darkness and pain, as well as the numbness that would follow. He knew the void quiet well, spacing out into oblivion as to escape the weight of his memories, and he understood what it took to break a person - both physically and mentally. He had had the training of a demon on his side for the majority of his time, teaching him how to blend into shadows and fight those twice as powerful as himself. He had spent millennia as a perfectly emotionless, perfectly relentless warrior...

...and now he was supposed to be _happy_?

))Never knew you were fond of torture, my little light.((

Slowly, he un-threaded the fingers of his right hand from amongst his hair, allowing his gaze to scroll lazily across the end of his limb as though examining it for something that only he could see. He flexed his fingers, the sting that had shot across his knuckles earlier long-since faded though a few scraps remained. He pondered what kind of mess would greet him when he left his pathetic little sanctuary. He knew he was fired, there was nothing to argue against that, and with such an incident attached to his name now, finding a new job would prove difficult. He didn't have the best attitude to begin with, so add assault to a woman on top of that...

))Assault.(( The word hung in his mind for a moment, considering a problem he'd only just realized. ))The bitch could take me to court if she wanted.(( His eyes narrowed, a keenness returning to their depths. ))Even if she doesn't, her little friends will. Shadow Magic is out of all our reaches now that the Items are gone, so they'll find another way to pin me down to make sure I don't hurt any present-day fools...((

"_Bakura, look at me! NOW! BAKURA!"_

He involuntarily shuttered, the vision of Zork burning fresh into his mind... as well as the feel of those damn claws sinking into him. It had felt so real... just like any other time he had a nightmare or hallucination. Sometimes, Bakura really did think that if he wasn't careful, Zork would land up grasping him through his dreams. After all the time they'd been attached, it wouldn't take much to make a link anymore. Bakura would have to find a way to thank Edward for grounding him...

Making up his mind, Bakura stiffly pushed himself up until he was on his feet again, catching hold of the sink with one hand to steady himself as he did. Pressing his fingers against his tired eyes, he let his hand drag down his face before it joined the other one braced on the sink. Taking a deep breath, he rose his gaze to its mirror image only to find that he indeed felt worse than he looked. At least it was good to know he was still good at pretending.

Turning off the rushing water, Bakura waited a moment longer to leave. He could hear the others moving around in the main room, talking to one another quietly. The loudest hushed voice was without a doubt Cheq's, Kobee's whispers coming in in second place with Christopher managing to add in a word here and there. Bakura couldn't hear any of the others, but he knew they hadn't strayed far. It was, after all, one of the rules of the shop: no one leaves during an 'event'. At least, not without Ed's say so. Usually it was a system that worked well... but, at the moment, he was cursing it. He didn't want to be bothered. He just wanted to talk to Edward and leave... but, from the sounds of the voices in the garage, leaving without a confrontation would be nothing short of a miracle.

))Either way, it doesn't matter.(( Turning where he stood, his hand found the door handle. ))I'm already as good as fired, so I might as well knock a few heads on my way out.(( Then the lock snapped open and Bakura exited his sanctuary to face the real world.

"...for all I care. Just don't expect me to be the one cleaning your guts off the floor."

Bakura couldn't help but raise a brow at the comment, eyeing the large, dark-skinned man across the shop who currently had his index finger stuck in Cheq's face threateningly. For what it counted for, the thief was glad that Kobee didn't seem to be the one wanting to tear him a new one - the mammoth stood well over six feet tall with muscled shoulders twice as broad as Bakura's. Not exactly a welcome opponent by any stretch of the imagination.

Cheq, on the other hand, was someone that Bakura had been in more than enough confrontations with even though he knew the risk was higher than was acceptable. The mid-thirty-something had a habit of pulling a gun when things started getting out of control, something he had yet to break himself of after getting thrown out of his own gang. He held about the same build as the thief, only a bit taller in stature, and he seemed to like sporting two different hair styles at once - his red hair super-short on one side only to continuously be left longer and longer as you changed sides, landing up grazing just over his shoulder. Like all the others here, his eyes held the hard experience of life behind his thin glasses and, if he was after Bakura like it would seem, the former thief knew to watch his back.

Then there was Blain standing amongst the small grouping whilst not saying a word, someone who would be considerably less of a hardship to deal with than an ant on the sidewalk. Dark blue hair stuck on top of his head going every which way, his grey eyes were like stone, but the nearly cat-like smile he had on his lips the majority of the time softened his other features. He was the casual joker of the group, but violence had already scarred his life on several occasions and now Blain would simply buckle rather than fight back, making him an easy target in a cruel world. Bakura could barely count the number of times he'd shown up to work black and blue.

Bakura didn't even flinch as the three stares turned towards him, keeping his features like cold stone as he glared straight back with his thumbs hooked in his pockets. He really didn't need to deal with all of these numbskulls right now, he had enough on his plate already.

Light reflected off of Cheq's glasses for an instant, partially concealing narrowed eyes as he seemed to dip his words in acid before speaking them. "So do you feel any better now that you've beat the crap out of some little girl, Bakura?"

The former thief growled darkly, only for his glare to turn upon the old man that was practically standing next to him leaning against the wall. Nearly the same instant cold stares locked, Bakura ground out a single-word question. "Where?"

Diago stared right back, not bothering to move from his position that he had found to be quite comfortable. "Where do you think?" he asked gruffly.

Bakura's glare shifted to the door to the break room not far from where he stood. His mind raced even as his feet planted themselves right where he stood, trying to figure out exactly what options he had left. He wasn't used to be the center of attention in the garage and his concentration was suffering on account of the sudden change. In the nearly three years he had worked here, this was the most involved he had ever allowed himself to become in any given situation. True, he had gotten into a hell of a lot of fights and once in a while he'd throw some of his cutting 'wisdom' in the faces of idiots needing a wake-up call, but other than that he'd stayed on the outside looking in. It was, after all, the place where he felt most comfortable. He knew the people here better than they realized... and they knew next to nothing about him. Now they were getting a crash-course on how to deal with him. Something that, so far, only Ryou, Edward, and one other had ever managed to get past.

Three was more than enough.

In a motion that would have been a hell of a lot more dramatic with his trench coat, Bakura turned on his heel and headed for the break room at a solid pace. Glare gleaming like sharpened steel, the former thief only tensed further as his hand gripped the door handle, preparing himself to deal with that face all over again...

...and the memories it brought to the surface.

A low, looming voice spoke up, "you'd better make sure you're good and ready to go in there, Bakura," Kobee advised slowly, arms crossed over his muscled chest. "You only have this last chance to smooth things over before things get even further out of control."

His hold on the handle tightening, the white haired other threw a cold look over his shoulder to the dark skinned other. "I am well aware of that," he snapped ruthlessly. "It's none of your concern."

"And how do you figure that?" Cheq fired back just as coldly. "I think you need to stop and think for once in your life and remember why the _hell_ the lot of us work here!"

Bakura tore back around to face the red haired other, pointing at him accusingly with eyes blazing with wild flames. "Don't you _dare_ lecture_ me_, you fool! I was here well before the likes of _you_ dragged yourself in from the gutter!" His arm lowered itself stiffly, fists clenching at his sides as his eyes narrowed in keen challenge. "If I remember correctly - and I always do - you were so pathetically weak Edward had to coax _me_ into helping him get you to the back. You were and are nothing but a spineless worm, incapable of helping yourself and only desiring pity!"

Cheq clenched his jaw, but it was Chris who suddenly spoke up from where he sat on a workbench in the center of the shop. "Guys, come on!" He jumped to the floor. "Don't turn on each other!"

"How can you turn on someone you never stood with in the first place?" Was Cheq's acidic response, eyes never once leaving the white haired other. "Maybe I _was_ weak when I first showed up here, Bakura " he began, eyes narrowed, "but who was it today that was begging, no, _pleading_, to be 'let go'?"

The thief's eyes glinted dangerously, his snarl pulling tighter over his features as his clenched fists turned white at his side.

Cheq didn't take the hint, smirking instead at the rise he was getting. "Who was it that was a hair's width from having a mental breakdown, _Ryou_?"

Diago shifted off the wall, "Cheq, that's enough now."

Bakura's jaw throbbed from tension, his brow twitching like mad. "Don't," he warned through his teeth, burning glare locked on the red haired being across from him.

"Who were you trying to escape,_ Ryou_?" The other man continued, grinning. "Who_ broke_ you like you were a child's _toy_? Who _controls_ you?"

"_NO ONE!_"

Bakura lunged. The image of Kobee flashed into his vision briefly, but the former thief's instincts ducked him low under a giant arm and sent his elbow sharply into the mammoth's side, making the other stumble heavily. By the time Bakura straightened from his dodge, the thief was already throwing a left hook that caught nothing but air as Cheq staggered back just in time.

Diago rushed forward, but didn't dare get too close as a second punch hit air and Cheq ducked low before driving a weak fist into the thief's gut. "You idiots! Knock it off!" His elder stare caught two other figures moving. "Blain! Chris! Keep back, you morons!"

Bakura snarled, one arm curling around his mid-section for a brief instant before pushing past such a minor setback. Easily catching Cheq's next punch, the thief pivoted on the balls of his feet and drove his shoulder into the other's chest, sending the man staggering backwards into the workbench that Chris had been sitting on earlier – sending tools clattering to the floor. Taking the moment of opportunity for all it was worth, Bakura swiftly closed the gap between them and crushed his fist into the other's cheekbone - sending a pair of glasses flying. Remarkably, Cheq managed to stay standing, his hand gripping onto the bench for balance, but not by any means ready to receive another assault as Bakura's arm cranked back to strike again. Then a sudden flash of movement from his opponent made the former thief's eyes shoot wide and, just as suddenly, something hit Bakura sideways at the same time that a deafening BANG echoed throughout the garage. The entire shop stilled.

Blain stood where the former thief once had, his slender body trembling as he stared straight back at Cheq - the gun still poised in the red haired other's hand. The silent teen staggered slightly even as everyone else froze, trying to grasp exactly what happened, and then the door to the break room burst open to reveal a single figure. Edward's eyes were wide as he absorbed the scene, his lips hanging open in disbelief.

However, after a long moment more, Blain let out a shuddering breath before glancing across to where Bakura stood and smiled at the stunned thief. "You're lucky I'm fast," he spoke faintly, a heavy rasp attached to each word. When everyone could only blink, he sorely pulled back to fabric of his shirt where at hole was more than apparent - revealing a bulletproof vest. "You said I should protect myself," he explained to the white haired other. "It really does soften the bruises I tend to collect."

Bakura blinked once more, only to shake himself out of his daze with a low growl from his throat. "That was _not_ what I meant!"

Blain offered his cat-like smile. "Don't care."

Edward jogged across the shop quickly, coming up to the teen's side and placing a careful hand on the blue haired boy's shoulder. Worry carved into his features, the employer shook his head in disbelief as he tried to judge just how much pain the boy was in. Bulletproof vest or not, it would still hurt like hell.

"Please tell me you're alright," Ed asked, fear evident in his tone.

The teen nodded. "I'm alright."

"Good... are you_ insane_?"

The quiet, smiling other shrugged sorely, one hand coming up to hold his throbbing chest. "Probably."

The boss could only give a half-hearted smirk before he glanced around his employees, his features turning stern again. "What the hell happened?" He demanded to know, his glare falling to the red haired man who had finally managed to get out of his shock enough to lower his gun. Ed's jaw clenched. "CHEQ!"

Still leaning on the bench for support, the man immediately put his hackles up at the harsh tone. "Don't blame me! This barbarian _attacked_ me!" He accused, gesturing wildly at the bristling thief.

"You had it coming!" Bakura snapped, snarl raising again. "Besides, it was _you_ who pulled a weapon and used it, you insufferable delinquent!"

"ENOUGH!" Edward snapped, successfully cutting off at least three others who had their mouths open ready to speak out. "Cheq," he turned to the man, "you know my rules and you still broke them. Go home and take that _thing_ with you. I'll talk to you tomorrow, understand?" When he saw a single nod, Edward glanced to the youngest of his crew. "Chris, shut down the shop for me, alright? We're closing early." He turned to Diago and Kobee. "Finish whatever work is left on that Ford quickly before you go home, we need it done for early tomorrow." Then, finally, his emerald eyes locked on the last two. "Bakura, Blain, come with me."

As three split up throughout the shop on their assigned tasks and one left the building completely (after picking up his glasses), the three others headed for the break room with Edward in the lead. However, before they even got near the door, Bakura suddenly grabbed Blain's shoulder and spun him to face him as they both stopped – not even bothering to lighten his hold when the thief caught the teen cringe. If anything, he held tighter.

"Never do that again," he growled the second he held eye contact, his glare boring down on the shorter other. "Understand, _boy_?"

Blain refused to let that stupid smile of his die despite the pain in his shoulder and chest. "If I hadn't, you'd probably be dead," he rasped out.

"Then that's my own damn doing!" Bakura snapped, only to force himself to steady before continuing, "only idiots sacrifice themselves for practical strangers. What is it about that that is so hard for your minuscule mind to comprehend? It's as though you _enjoy_ being the world's punching-bag."

At that, a slight frown shadowed his joyful look, but he still offered a lopsided shrug. "I owed you, Bakura." Blain's smile grew stronger as the white haired other's features darkened. "You _have_ patched me back together a few times since I've been here." He reminded, one hand lifting to gently touch a dark scar spreading across his neck. "Not to mention saving my life."

The thief's scowled. "I did _not_ save your life. Those_ friends_ of yours just did a half-ass job and you wanted to keep living. Today was nothing like that. You were risking having your face blown off, you fool." His stare narrowed cuttingly, tone lowing. "Do it again, and I'll kill you myself." And, with that, he brushed past the teen towards the break room, finding Edward waiting patiently at the door.

Upon entry of the small group, Tea immediately found herself flinching under the brutal glare of her old enemy as he stalked in behind his employer. A young man she didn't recognize followed the first two in before closing the door quietly behind him - every moment stiff and awkward as he held his shoulder painfully tight. Though she wasn't sure about the gunshot, the only woman in the room didn't have to be told anything of what the sudden ruckus had been a few minutes ago - it was as clear as day right in front of her. She'd pissed Zork off, so, still being huffed after being pulled away from her, he had taken his anger out on this teen. Her suspicions were confirmed even further as the teen made his way to collapse down in the free armchair near her... and all the scars and bruises that marked his skin just became more visible.

Tea could feel her heart twist in her chest, unable to keep her stare away from the mess of scars and bruise marks on his hands and face - their impressions disappearing beneath his clothes. The most hideous of the scars was drawn right across his neck from one side to the other, dark and jagged. She couldn't even imagine the pain he had been through... but she knew of someone else who probably could. Tea felt sick in her stomach again, because now she knew - now she knew that this is what Ryou had faced constantly... and this abuse was what had eventually killed him.

She clenched her fists in her lap. ((And he doesn't care!)) Her glare returned to her old enemy in full flame. ((How sick does someone have to be to do something like this to another person?)) He caught her glare, but she didn't back down. She could feel herself bristling, holding a front... and his own glare narrowed in keen challenge. ((No... not a person at all...)) she growled in her mind with venom practically dripping. ((You're just a _demon_!))

Bakura snarled at the woman's insistence to bore holes into him, deciding to shift his eyes away from hers before she fed his anger anymore than she already was. Deciding instead to watch his boss, the former thief paid half a mind to Edward tossing a second ice pack at Blain who caught the item fairly easily. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut through, no one seeming to know what to say or do as Ed hovered near the fridge and everyone else remained in their own chosen spots, absorbed in their own thoughts. However, Bakura was thankful for the silence no matter how strained... mainly because he knew it wouldn't last.

Tea steeled her resolve and straightened her posture before speaking with words cut with a precise edge. "I see you haven't changed much over the years, _Zork_."

He clenched his jaw at the name, forcing down the spike of fury that bristled beneath his skin as he turned his head away from the woman, choosing instead to glare icily at the wall. Nerves strained to the breaking point, he forced himself to concentrate on something out of this miserable existence that would calm him down. Unfortunately for him, he had yet to create such a list to go by and was currently drawing a blank... which, in itself, only pissed him off more.

))I need a fucking hobby.((

That _voice_ came again. "What? First time in over three thousand years you're speechless?"

Bakura growled, speaking through his clenched teeth, "I have plenty of things to say..." he began coldly. "But none that I will waste on a Pharaoh's whore."

"Hold it." Ed cut in quickly, seamlessly interrupting a rather insulted Tea as her own anger rose up at such an accusation. Standing in the middle of the room between the two, Ed passed skeptical looks to each before he dared to speak again, choosing his words carefully as he kept his voice low. He didn't know exactly what a Pharaoh had to do with anything, but he just assumed it to be a nickname for someone. "We're all _supposed_ to be civilized adults here, lets try to act the part for a while and talk like rational people. That sound okay with everyone?"

"'Civilized' and 'rational' are _not_ in _his_ vocabulary," Tea returned evenly, arms folded over her chest. "He did nothing but terrorize my friends and I all the time he was–!"

"Don't even start with your fucking friends!" Bakura shot out, arms crossed firmly. "The last thing I need is some little cheerleader ranting about sunshine and friendship defeating all worldly evils! Just grow up already!"

"Okay." Ed pressed his fingers against his eyelids, trying to relieve some tension. "_That_ isn't helpful from either of you. Look, I'm sure neither of you want to pick another fight here **AND**..." he paused after the accented word, making sure he wasn't going to be interrupted as he shifted his stare from one to the other. "...Even if you _do_, this is _my_ garage and I say _hell_ no!"

"Believe me, if I still wanted to kill her, she'd already be dead," Bakura rounded back, not the least bit fazed. "Before was merely a slight lapse of judgement..." ((...And of reality,)) he added mentally. "That's all."

His boss quirked a brow. "No kidding," he responded, _somewhat_ sarcastic as he shifted on his feet, trying to stretch the sore muscle on his side. "I'd have never guessed." Seeming to give up on his bruise at the moment, the middle-aged man sighed. "Even half-delusional you still fight like a fiend."

"'That's all'?" Tea picked out, glare nearly becoming cutting. "You _attacked_ me and all you have to say that you had a lapse of _judgement_?"

"Quite a big one too," Bakura sneered. "You're still _alive_, aren't you?"

Tea huffed. "From what _Mr. Johnson_ says, you're on the high-road now, so you shouldn't even be thinking of an act as dark as murder. Quite a remarkable goal for such a lowlife demon, don't you think?"

Ignoring the actual comment, the former thief's glare suddenly snapped to Ed with a heated glare. "You _talked _to her about me?"

Not ruffled, his boss only glared back. "Oh, clam it, Baku. You know better of me than that. She's just exaggerating what I _did_ tell her. Standard protocol." He help up three fingers, folding them down with each point. "Name. How long you've been here. Why I hired you. After that, it's private." His stare narrowed. "Or are you doubting _me_ now?"

Bakura had no comment.

"That's what I thought." He replied, warmth returning to his expression as he turned back to Blain quickly. "And how are _you_ feeling?"

"Alright," the boy replied with a rasped tone, catching the startled look from the girl out of the corner of his eye, but he ignored it. People always felt uneasy when he spoke nowadays. "At least my chest doesn't feel like it's on fire now."

Bakura glared at the boy. "Your own damn fault. If you learned to keep out of other people's business, this wouldn't keep happening."

Tea bristled, her glare flying back to the white haired other. "Is that what you used to tell _Ryou_?" She asked lowly.

A growl emitting from his throat, Bakura's fingers clawed into his own forearms as he gritted his teeth tightly - all in a fleeting attempt to keep reins on a storm that surged like a virus throughout his system as he glared at the female across from him. It was at times like these that he could curse his hikari into oblivion - times where he would give anything to be like he used to be and not _feel_. He used to be in such control of himself, of his emotions... but all that was gone. Ryou had wormed his way into the soul of a merciless warrior and had injected warmth and life into what had been cold and dead. With the boy around, it had been fine, but afterwards... it became a living hell. To feel the agony of loss was not something that the great Thief King Bakura had ever wanted to bear again.

"_I know this probably hurts your pride, but I saved you. Me. Your weak, little host."_

'Saved' was most surely the wrong word. 'Infected' fit better, or maybe 'rebuilt'. Bakura had nearly shattered when Ryou had joined the faces of the former thief's family, of the people of Kul Elna... of all the people he cared for and would never see again. His hikari had been his life preserver in those five years - keeping him from being swallowed by his own rage, his own hate, his own misery. But now...

"_You're not my son! YOU'RE NOT MY SON!"_

Bakura pressed two fingers to his temple tightly as images flashed forward behind his eyelids, each and every one from that day three years ago when he had awoken as the sole resident in Ryou's body. His mind burned as still images wove together, threatening to swallow him back into the memory of it even as he struggled to push it away. It was still too easy for him to become detached from his shell and wander back into his mind - too easy for his thoughts to drift too far into what had been and take him away from what is.

Ed's voice seemed far away when he spoke, "Miss Gardner, what exactly are you accusing my employee of?"

Before the woman could speak, Bakura did for her: "Blain's countless injuries. She has assumed they are of my own doing."

"_What_?" Blain rasped out, only to swallow hard as his risen voice hurt his throat. Quickly, his eyes shot to Tea from beneath his straggly mop of blue hair. "That's ridiculous. Bakura's done nothing to me." He frowned as the woman's features darkened slightly, not convinced at all. "I... I get these from... old friends of mine." He offered a shaky smile, his hands digging into the arms of the chair he sat in. "They still like to... to corner me... from time to time." His stone stare swapped to the white haired other who wasn't even looking at anyone anymore - choosing instead to glare at a spot on the wall. "A while ago, they tried to... finish me off." Tenderly, he rose a pale hand touched his throat. "...But it wasn't a clean cut." He turned back to Tea. "I was supposed to be in for work that morning. When I didn't show up, Ed sent everyone out looking for me. Bakura... was the one who found me... and he wrapped up my injuries good enough until they could get me to the hospital."

The frown over Tea's features had become more and more faint as she listened to the injured boy speak - the words themselves coming out slowly so he could pronounce them properly. Listening to him rasp made her own throat itch, but she tried her best not to attempt to clear it out of impulse and focused solely on what she was being told. The only problem being that what she was being told didn't make a lick of sense. She remembered Zork vividly - remembered what he put them through over the years.

His burning glare.

His sadistic grin.

His maddened laugh.

Zork was the greatest evil that Atemu and Yugi had ever fought against... how is it even possible that he not only survived the last battle, but also escaped?

In any case, what she was being told sounded not just crazy, but 100% hands-down insane. Zork didn't _help_ people, by any means. Well, not unless you _wanted_ to be obliterated in the most painful way possible over the longest stretch of time - _then_ he could possibly be quite helpful!

Tea bit her lip slightly, choosing her words for a response carefully as studied her own clenched hands in her lap. "I'm... so sorry for what happened. I hadn't meant to bring up such horrible memories for you. I'd... I'd just assumed that..." she stopped and shook her head, her hesitant stare rising to the boy seated near her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm alive," Blain responded, smiling. "That's nothing to be 'sorry' about."

She stole a glance at the gruff being across the room, only to find herself caught off-guard with the drop-dead glare she was getting back. For a second no one said anything, then his stare shifted to Edward with a decision already rolling off his tongue.

"It would seem that Gardner and I require some time to discuss matters of past and present," he informed coldly, a low growl seeming to underline his words to prove his own aggravation. "You and Blain can go."

The boss scoffed, a light glare darkening his kind features. "I think not. You're in no condition–"

"Don't tell me what the _fuck_ I can and can't do," he snapped back, teeth clenched. "This bitch and I have to settle some matters. I can't _do_ that with you here!"

"You idiot, would you listen to yourself?" Rounding, Ed turned to face his employee in full. "Would you just _stop_ and _think_ about what happened today? Hm? What the _hell_ do you expect from me at this point?"

Bakura's hands fisted at his side. "What do I _'expect'_? What _can I _expect? It's already obvious that you're firing me, so you might as well get it over with already, Edward. I'm not exactly a sentimentalist with these issues. Once that's done, then just leave so I can _try_ to save the remains of my so-called life!"

Ed set his jaw, his body tensing. "You want to quit?"

Bakura growled, annoyed by the sudden turn-around. "Why the hell would I _want_–"

"That is what I'm asking." A chill was building in his tone, "are you _trying_ to quit on me?"

"No, but–"

"Then why the_ hell _are you telling me to fire you?"

This time, the former thief stopped short. "...You _weren't_ going to fire me?"

"Are you accusing me of turning my back on my employees?" He shot back, obviously more than a little pissed at the accusation as his green eyes steeled over. "I have _never_ turned any of you away. Not once. I've always taken events in stride... or are you under the delusion that you are some kind of special case?"

"_There is more at stake here than you comprehend."_

Bakura's thoughts spiraled at the sudden voice from the past, but he hid it well behind stone features. This stress wasn't helping him at this point... and, it would seem, neither was arguing with Edward. Why argue over _keeping_ your job? In any case, Bakura held his tongue.

Ed sighed, a hand raising to rub his temple in stress before he glanced back to the other two in the room. "Give us a few minutes here," he said.

His stare then swapped back to the white haired employee with eyes reading 'come' before he turned and went over to where a makeshift kitchen was set up in the room. Logically, it was the best place for a few whispers to be exchanged. It was right across the room from where the others were sitting and, width wise, it was away from the door to stay away from any eavesdroppers. It wasn't ideal by any means, but it would have to do. Bakura just followed wordlessly, placing his back to the others just as Edward was.

Ed didn't waste any time getting to the point, knowing that all of their nerves were fried as it was without adding stressed silences to the mix. "Look... just how serious are you about speaking to Miss Gardner alone?" He asked, tone hushed. "Would it really matter any if there was... a fly on the wall while you talked?"

Bakura's glare found the other out of the corner of his eye. "...This is about the past I left behind, Edward. I don't want you knowing too much of it."

The boss' stare hit the counter in front of him, hands braced on the edge. "...For your security or my safety?"

"Call it a bit of both."

"_You are nothing more than a pawn driven by your own memories."_

Ed nodded, pressing his fingers against his closed eyes before letting his hand drag down his face tiredly. "Alright... but, first, you have to do something for me."

"If it's apologizing to Gardner while I'm at it, I already figured I'd have to choke that out at some point."

A small smirk lifted, but it was a dead gesture. "No, that's not what I was going to ask. No matter how good of an idea that would be later on, an apology cannot be asked for, only offered."

"Poetic. What it is then? Just spit it out already."

Edward's brow furrowed further, then, without a word, he opened the door of the fridge beside him and reached inside. Still keeping his back to the others, he retrieved something in his hand before closing the door once more... and offering what he had to his employee. The sight alone was enough to make the former thief bristle.

"I want you to take some of this," he said, but it sounded more like a plea.

Bakura glared at the small glass bottle of clear liquid and the small syringe that were being openly offered to him, his arms uncrossing to hang tense at his side. The container had a printed label written in that coded language that only doctors could figure out, but he knew what it basically was. A sedative.

"_I'd say the punishment fit the crime."_

The former thief lifted a cold look to his employer. "I don't need it," he growled out.

Edward sighed, eyes closing, but he didn't retract his hand yet. "Bakura, you've always said that people need to accept reality and quit fooling themselves with fantasies of how things should be. That sometimes the truth may be hard to face, maybe even painful, but it's better than running and hiding from it." Lifting his eyes, Ed stared evenly back at his employee. "Then let's have a look at the facts - at reality. Within a span of an hour, you've attacked two people in two different situations, had hallucinations, and nearly had a mental breakdown right in front of me. Whoever this woman is to you, she obviously stirs up a lot of pain from your past... and if you want me to trust your self-control enough to let you and her speak alone, then I need to know that you have a handle on that anger." His eyes darkened. "You have no idea how much I want to be able to just drain this crap down the sink... but we both know at this point what that would be doing."

"_Run and hide all you want, you fools. For no matter where you go, the shadows will always be waiting to welcome you."_

Bakura's glare shifted back to the offered items, mind racing. He didn't want to admit that he had to follow his own cutting wisdom, but he also couldn't deny that he wasn't able to keep his boiling temper down. He couldn't do this all on his own, not right now anyway...

"It'll relax you," Ed added quietly, "and it should help... quiet the voices."

"_Meet my dad."_

Schizophrenia. Sometimes he really did want to believe that's all it was. He'd gone insane. It was bound to get him eventually. It was actually a wonder he'd only snapped this recently. Happens to the best of us. Nothing big. He'd just be sporting the 'tied-up' look for the rest of his life. A nice long walk down to the funny farm. It would be absolutely _brilliant_. Lots of trees, and flowers, and chirping birds...

Mentally, he groaned. ))No more Dr. Demento for me...((

"Bakura?"

"Yeah, I know," he muttered under his breath, finally taking possession of the two offered items. "...Just cursing basket-weavers."

"_Ryou! Amane! Supper's ready!"_

If Edward made a comment to that, Bakura didn't hear it. With precise efficiency, the former thief filled the syringe with a decent dosage and went straight to finding a vein before he could convince himself not to. Even with the years gone past, Bakura's skill with handling human tissue was still embedded into him, letting him find a vein with ease without even the need of a tourniquet. He drained the fluid quickly before tossing the syringe away carelessly - Ed having already taken the bottle back while the employee was otherwise occupied. Bracing his arms on the counter, Bakura let out a heavy sigh, eyes sliding shut as he tried to convince himself that he _couldn't_ feel the drugs traveling into his system with every heartbeat. It sickened him to have to put Ryou's body through this just so he could keep his mind in line.

))I'm sorry.((

"_W-Who...? Y-You're... y-you're... me."_

"Bakura, how are you feeling?"

))I'm sorry...((

"Bakura?"

"Fan-fucking-tastic, so shut up."

Ed smirked. "Good to hear it, Baku. Are you ready to get this over with?"

He growled, eyes opening just a bit to glare at the mess of magazines over the surface in front of him. They really needed to clean this place once every millennia or so. "I'll never be_ ready_."

"Alright then." Ed's smirk wavered slightly. "Just... don't make me regret this, Baku." Then the man turned around to face the other two who seemed to have lasted through the stretch of silence just fine. In fact, it seemed as though they'd been chatting a little. Covering his worry with a smile, he passed a kind look between both of those seated. "Alright, I think we're all set." He looked to Tea. "If it is fine by you, Blain and I will be stepping out now."

The teen employee blinked slightly, but Tea's eyes narrowed just a touch before she nodded calmly. "That's fine." However, beneath her exterior, her mind was racing.

Bakura turned to Edward. "I can handle this."

The man hesitated still, but did nod. "Alright. We'll be just outside. Call if you need anything." It only took a small motion to Blain for the teen to stiffly rise to his feet and follow his boss out. The door was shut an instant later.

Bakura didn't allow a silence to draw out. "First things first," he began, leaning back against the wall in an effort to get comfortable. He wasn't planning on sitting. "I will attempt to answer whatever idiotic question you manage to concoct, but, in exchange, you are to hold your tongue concerning today's _unfortunate _events. No police reports, no charges - not on me or even this business. Just forget it. My words for your silence. Equal trade." His sharp glare finally turned to her. "Agreed?"

Tea stared straight back, studying. "...And how much _honesty_ can I trust to be in your words, Zork?"

The Thief bristled. "You really need to stop calling me that," he snapped harshly, only to then force himself down. "I am no _demon_, though I suppose some would claim me to be even though I was born human. I am Zork's previous host from Egypt, a Tomb Robber and Thief King. It's nearly funny how you fools have latched onto _his_ name as being your enemy... when I was the one you were confronting the most."

Tea frowned. "So... you're an ancient spirit? Like Atemu?"

His eyes rolled. "Amazing, I do believe she's caught on," he rounded back, sarcasm dripping.

She let that pass. "But I thought–"

"Yes or no, little Tea," Bakura cut in. "Do we have a deal or not?"

As though such an act was intimidating, her eyes narrowed. "_If_ you _swear _to tell the truth." Inwardly, she continued, ((though I doubt you will.))

He pretended to draw an 'X' over his chest with his finger, smirking as he did. "Thief's Honor."

The young woman nearly scowled at his joking manner. She wasn't sure if she'd made the right choice, but even if… _whoever_ this is _was _lying, it's not as though a police report would do much anyway. Shadow Magic couldn't really be stopped by bullets, after all. Zork would always be powerful, so she had to be careful… but at least this way she had a chance to get information from him before phoning Yugi and the others tonight.

Her brow furrowed at the name of her childhood friend, eyes falling to her lap. ((Yugi... what are you going to say when I call? Is it even fair to call you after...?)) But, before she could dwell, she shook herself of the thought. She had to concentrate. Not doing so at this point would probably go down as the stupidest thing she'd ever done…

"Having a nice trip down Memory Lane?"

Tea sent as cold of a glare as she could muster at the smirking demon. She didn't care if he denied it: he _was_ a demon, whether human-born or not. "I suppose I should call you 'Bakura' then? It seems like that's what you have everyone else doing."

"And why shouldn't I? It _is_ my name."

"No, it's Ryou name," she shot back. "You just stole it from him."

The thief growled in warning, but seemed to chew on his words for a minute before picking his response. "...It's the name I chose for myself a long time ago."

"When you were first freed."

Bakura nearly laughed at the irony. "When I was condemned."

Tea frowned at that, the bitterness attached to those words making her second-guess herself in pushing the matter. She supposed that it didn't really matter what he called himself, even if it was the name of one of her friends. After all, there _were_ plenty of people in the world that had the same name as one another… this one was just born in a different era than everyone else. Besides, 'Bakura' had been the family name. It wasn't as though this spirit was demanding to be called 'Ryou' after his reincarnation, as though to replace him. He was just using a name that, apparently, he had had before even entering this modern world.

((What are the odds of that?)) She wondered, but pushed on. "Last time I saw you – or Zork, I'm not sure which – it was during that whole Memory World affair. Atemu _sealed_ you away. The whole Shadow Realm was supposed to be sealed off. How did you get out?"

"Both of us were there. It was our final front, after all," Bakura returned, features as solid as stone. "If you must know, I managed to crossover and inhabit Ryou before your beloved Pharaoh sealed me into oblivion with those doors of his." He seemed to mull something over for a second, then continued, "...Ryou helped me make the crossing."

Tea's eyes suddenly widened as she shot forward in her seat, unbelieving. "He did? _Why_?" She all but screeched, only to freeze as her actual choice of words registered in her mind. She cringed slightly, carefully observing the former tomb robber's reaction... or lack of reaction.

"_I won't help you. You… you've hurt enough people."_

Bakura stared back at her for a long moment, emotions kept firmly in check as he watched the girl before him fidget... but, even though he didn't look it, his mind was elsewhere. A flurry of images flashed before his conscious all at once as overlapping voices rushed over his hearing, the coherency of it only suffering a little as a result of the sedative. Blood splattered across his mind, both his own as well as the blood of others. A million faces, a million voices… all ending in one.

"_Look, I'm not leaving until we talk… so you might as well come out."_

"Um… B-Bakura?"

"_B-Bakura?"_

"...I don't know," he finally responded.

Tea blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I don't know why he helped me out of the Shadow Realm," he repeated to clarify. "He was just... Ryou. It was his nature."

"So, all this time... eight years..." The young woman frowned. "...You were still...?" She gestured with one hand to close the gap.

"Around?" He finished for her, eyes narrowing cooly as he shifted his weight on his feet. "Yes."

"H-How long has Ryou been…?" Tea struggled to get the words out that she wanted. It was hard enough to have the question in her mind, but to voice it…

"…Three years." Bakura muttered, answering the unsaid question as he glared fiercely across the room. For her sake, he hoped the wench would be smart for once and find a new topic quickly.

Tea's gaze dropped to her lap, eyes misty as she furrowed her brow even further. She could just imagine how people would jeer at her right now, telling her to get a grip. It had been eight years since she had last seen her friend... and, some would argue, he hadn't even be her friend at all. She had never really known him very well… or well at all, for that matter. He'd been a face moving in and out of her life, usually under the most desperate of situations… all under the control of _him_. Ryou had always been quiet, sinking into the background if he could, but Tea had seen him. More than that, she had _noticed_ him when he was around – even back at Duelist Kingdom, she was the one who always seemed to notice.

Now, her heart ached as she wished she had done more than just 'notice.'

She _had _wanted to get to know him, truly, she did... but it was far, far too late.

((A mechanic.)) She shook her head, her gaze lifting to the tense figure who seemed to be trying to kill the wall across the room with his glare alone. ((Why all this… for a job as a mechanic? He's been obsessed with power for thousands of years... a mob-boss would probably be a better fit…))

He spoke before she could. "Are we done here?"

Tea shook her head firmly, needing to know something. "I... I want... to know why you did it." She didn't flinch as that glare turned against her fiercely, staring him in the eye the best she could. "I want to know why you... killed him."

He growled, tensing even further. "I just killed him. What more do you want to hear, wench?" A bitter smirk took his features, eyes closing. "Ah, I see. At heart, you're a little sadist. Well, then which do you want to hear about first? About how his blood coated everything in sight? The sounds he made as he was torn apart? The expression on his face as he stared up at me in his last mo–"

"_Stop it!_" Tea screeched, flying to her feet with arms held straight at her sides, fists clenched. She stared into dark eyes, her own stare drowning in unshed tears as she struggled to not let her emotions break into her voice. "Just _stop_! How can you stand there and say those things about him? You said yourself that he saved you and _this_ is how you repay him? By stealing his _life_ and then spitting on him in _death_?"

Cold eyes narrowed against her, the only emotions apparent being mass amounts of annoyance and anger. "At least _I_ do not shed tears on the empty grave of someone I didn't even _know,_" he spat back, warning practically dripping in his tone. "Your sorrow is as empty as your head, you _fool_."

"There was nothing in it for you!" Tea yelled back regardless, tears finally let loose over her cheeks for the second time that day. "Ryou stood against you before as you fought the Pharaoh - even in Duelist Kingdom, he was what made you lose! But you decide to kill him _five years_ after Atemu moves on? When there's no way you can use a mortal body as your own to claim the Items? Why kill him for a lousy job as a _mechanic_? _Why_?"

"Oh, _SHUT UP!_"

Tea staggered backwards, not being able to help the gasp that escaped her at the sheer volume and tone blasted against her. She stared into the eyes of the devil, feeling captive under that burning glare that made her feel as though she couldn't look away even if he told her to. She could practically see him trembling in his own rage, a snarl drawn tight over his features and fists clenched until they were white at his side. The image of a lion staring down its cornered prey swept into her mind, but she banished it. She didn't want to think she could land up being at his mercy again, didn't want to think that she was trapped…

"Are you done?" He snarled, his eye twitching... only for the door to fly open, making Bakura yell even before he saw who it was. "Don't be fucking checking up on me, dammit! I can_ handle_ this, just leave me _alone_!"

Chris stopped, hand still poised on the doorhandle as he quirked a brow at the white haired other, shrugging loosely. "Alright, whatever. If yelling at the top of your lungs is what you call 'handling it' then that's fine by me."

Bakura gritted his teeth at the child, forcing his hackles to settle down as he ran a quick hand through his knotted hair. "Who the hell asked you? What do you even _want_?"

"You asked and I want my bookbag." The kid answered easily, smirking... only to nearly cough from losing air when his bag was thrown at him with such speed he more or less caught it with his stomach than his hands. "H-Hey! Easy on the merchandise, would you?"

"Just get out!"

"What's your problem? Is it your_ time of the month_ again?"

"Brat, I swear–"

"Okay, I think that's enough," Kobee cut in seamlessly as he came into view in the doorway - filling most of it with his sheer size. He looked down upon the youngest employee of the garage, trying his best not to smirk. "Ed told us not to bother them, Chris. That would _include_ you." When the boy beside him scoffed, arms crossed, the dark-skinned man turned his solid stare to the former thief. "Sorry, Bakura."

"Whatever," Bakura grounded coldly. "We're done here anyway."

Tea couldn't help the glare she sent him. "No, we're not! I still have questions!"

"Too fucking bad for you." He growled, a single canine flashing within his snarl as his lethal glare swung back to the wench with him. "You should have thought of that before you pissed me off!"

The young woman nearly growled herself, hands fisted at her side. "I want to know why you killed Ryou, _Bakura_!" She snapped, obviously just as pissed as he was. "I want to know why now - after all these years!"

Bakura nearly pulled out his hair. "By the sands, woman! Why can't you just leave me_ alone_?"

"Because Ryou was my friend!"

"Well, he certainly didn't see it that way, you impudent fool! I would have _thought_ the note he left for you morons the day he left would have made that _clear_! Or did you not even _get_ it?"

She skipped over that the best she could. Wanting to believe something else. "He left because of you! He didn't want you to hurt any of us anymore!"

"_Neither_ of us wanted anything to do with you, you bitch! He left because he was sick of all your bullshit! How many times did you offer him your goddamn friendship only to practically ignore him? Did you think he didn't _notice_? Did you take him to be _that _stupid?"

"No! We just–"

"–just what? Just couldn't be bothered? Just couldn't take the time from your busy schedules to make sure he _wasn't_ falling into depression? That he _wasn't_ under the control of a lunatic in his head again? Fuck it, you're still full of crap, Gardner!"

"We tried!"

"Don't lie to me!" Bakura snapped back, eyes glinting in warning. "Not about him. Not if you value your life."

Tea scowled, even more annoyed with how effectively he had managed to turn all this on her and back her into a corner. However, she refused to back down. "We were just kids, Bakura. We shouldn't have _had_ to be worried about Ryou in that way... that was all your doing, so don't pin it on us!"

"I thought you said you were _friends_ with him?" Bakura cut back, precise in every word. "So where _exactly _were you when your _friend_ needed you most?"

The young woman flinched visibly, a single hand rising to clench over her chest. "You're the one that made it turn out this way." She hit him with a glare, but it was far from cold as tears were more than visible. "All of this was _pain_ from _YOU_! _You _created it! _You _manipulated it! And _Ryou__** PAID**_for it! And for _WHAT_? For a job as a _mechanic_? _Why_? Why _here_ of all places?"

"Because I belong here, Gardner! Where the hell else would I _go_?"

"I don't know! The mafia?"

"Yeah, right, and exchange one bloodbath for another! I've watched _enough_ people die for one existence,_ alright_?" He snapped out, more words flowing than what he meant to. "I'm _sick_ and _tired_ of being surrounded by_ death_ and _misery_!"

Tea blinked, obviously taken a back... at first. Then her eyes narrowed again in suspicion. "You _almost_ sounded sincere there."

He growled, not at all amused by this little game. "I already told you once, you fool. I am _not_ a demon. My agenda was revenge. However, since his _Highness_ no longer _graces_ us mere commoners with his _Godly_ presence anymore, I needed a new purpose to my existence."

The young woman gave him a bland look, motioning limply with one hand to the shop on the other side of the wall. "By fixing cars?"

"Would you rather I was stealing them?"

Silence.

"...You actually have to_ think _about it?"

"Well, to be honest, you _stealing_ cars is a lot more believable."

Silence.

"...What? It _is_!"

Bakura pressed his fingers tiredly against his shut eyes. "I swear," he muttered lowly, "I'd have better luck trying to reason with a _wall._" Dragging his hand down his face, his glare resurfaced as it swapped to the two silent figures in the door. "Speaking of which, when are you two_ flies_ planning to screw off?"

"Immediately," Ed answered, coming in between the (rather speechless) two with a hand landing on each of their shoulders. However, a smirk was toying on his features when he spoke, "sorry, Bakura. Seems my orders don't mean much today."

Chris rolled his eyes. "I was just getting my bag. You said we were going home, so I needed it."

Ed allowed the smirk to win. "And I'm guessing getting into an argument is part of the package?"

The boy shrugged, slinging a tattered strap over his shoulder. "It's Bakura. Arguments kinda happen naturally."

The thief scoffed, an easy smirk lifting his dark features ever so slightly. "Funny... because I think there's a vertically-challenged squirt I know with a similar description."

Chris stuck out his tongue.

"One day I'm going to cut that thing off, boy."

"I'd like to see you try!"

"I wouldn't," Kobee cut in. "So I think now is my cue to get going."

"Sure." Ed gave a nod. "See you in the morning. Rest well, we'll have a lot of catching-up to do." Then, when the large man turned and left for the front of the shop, Edward's gaze turned back to Bakura's. "You should do the same. It's been an... exciting day for all of us. I need you alert tomorrow."

The white haired other gave a slight nod, but didn't move from his position. That was all the hinting it took to get Ed to steer the young boy beside him off - closing the door as he did. The silence that hung in the room felt thick, making them feel as though a weight was pressing on their chests as they each found themselves lost in their own trains of thought, their own lives. He with his glare placed firmly on the floor before him; her with her stare fixed on him.

He acted differently towards the others. She had noticed that straight away. Even with how he engaged such a loud child as Chris - there was a rough sense of... brotherhood, perhaps, amongst them. They appeared to be close but...

((...but it was Ryou who paid the price for this.)) A pang of sadness hit her chest as her eyes slipped away from the figure across from her. ((I can't walk away now... I need to know why.)) She spoke quietly, "I have to know why such a sweet boy is gone..."

The former thief's stare fell shut. He was far too tired to argue this anymore. If she wanted to know what had caused his hikari's death, then he would voice it... no matter how much it hurt. He deserved the pain, anyway. He deserved all the anguish in the world for ever laying a single finger on that boy. Amazingly though, Ryou had survived the torture, though not without scars, and had forgiven his darkness... then, in a split second, it all ended and Bakura was alone.

Well, almost alone.

If it hadn't have been for the one other person - someone who'd been around since Duelist Kingdom - who knew of his existence within the British boy then Bakura knew for a fact that he wouldn't have pulled through like he had. It was pathetic, he knew that, but it's not like he'd been given a choice in the matter. He could still remember the worlds that had pulled him from the depths of his mind...

"_Stay out here with me, Bakura."_

When the thief spoke, his words were but a cold mutter, "I wanted a life." Those few words tasted like bile on his tongue, but they were truth... his truth. "I wasn't content with the role I was playing and pushed for more."

She regarded him carefully, hoping that, by not speaking, she was leaving the door open for him to continue. Unfortunately, he did not. He had given her his answer and nothing else - like he had promised he would. In the end, he was trying to keep his word.

"That life," Tea spoke quietly, "was not yours to claim."

His eye twitched, but he forbid himself to react. "...Go home, Gardner." He turned his stare to lock onto hers. "Go back to your little friends and stay there. As for me, well... I still have a promise to keep."

Tea blinked slightly, surprise evident in her features. "'Promise'?"

His brow furrowed slightly. "...Thief's Honor," he nearly whispered, his stare slipping back to the floor in front of him.

The young woman frowned but, this time, she agreed it was time to take her leave. Taking the tattered blanket off the couch, she quickly folded it and laid it over the arm of the couch before picking up her purse. Her paces to the door weren't nearly as hurried as she had figured she would have upon leaving the room and, when she reached the door, she stopped and turned back to the solemn figure. Something in her view of him changed in that second and, for the first time, she thought that she could almost see a trace of misery in those stone features.

It nearly made her stop from asking one final question... but not quite.

"Bakura?"

He didn't look up, but, somehow, she knew he was listening.

"Do you... have the Ring again?"

This time, his eyes closed. "No."

She believed him. Nodding, she turned without another word and left, letting the door close behind her with a solid clunk. However, on the other side, she found herself needing a moment to align herself and carefully leaned back against the wall beside the door. Her hands clutched her purse tightly - her mind replaying everything that she had just gone through one more time... as if the first fifty times weren't enough.

Taking a small flip-mirror from her purse, Tea glanced over her appearance quickly and - though the bruise on her cheek was more than a little noticeable - she still tried to smooth down her hair with some last shred of vanity. With a heavy sigh, however, she soon abandoned the idea and tossed the item back into her purse. Her eyes viewed the shop around her - so eerily still - but a movement in a large window across the way caught her eye.

Ed's office.

She could see him flipping through files, though she doubted he was actually doing anything. He was probably just pretending to work so he could keep an eye and ear out for his employee and her. Not that that bothered her. In fact, it came as a bit of a relief. Someone really was keeping a sharp eye on the thief, keeping him in line...

((And no Shadow Magic required.)) She nearly gave a slight smile at the thought, but a pain in her cheek stopped her. A second later, she had her hand placed tenderly over the spot. ((He's still dangerous,)) she reminded herself. ((Yugi has to know.))

So, deciding it was best for her to just head home at this point, Tea simply left the garage and flagged down a taxi to take her back to her apartment. The thought made her sigh - she didn't have a 'home' right now. Since she had only stepped into her new living area for the first time yesterday and had yet to unpack most of her things, it didn't really_ feel _like a home yet and she wouldn't call it one until it did. However, the question _now_ was whether she would stay long enough for the patch of space to _ever _feel like a home. She honestly didn't know.

Dance schools or not, she really didn't want to live in the same city as him.

* * *

Bakura stood unmoving for what felt like forever - his muscles becoming stiff in their locked positions as his mind took him through the day's events. He had honestly never thought his luck would turn so bad that he would come across one of _them_. It wasn't that he was ashamed of what he had done to them, nor did he care what they thought of him... but it was Ryou. Always Ryou.

When was the worst? Before they had arrived at Domino, or after? It was all a blur of violence and blood unless Bakura took a second to organize everything in his mind. One thing usually just piled on top of another, events blurring into events with no rhyme nor reason. Every detail was perfect though. Every word he remembered had been spoken in exactly the tone he remembered it spoken in. Every action, every reaction - it was all exact, he knew he could rely on that much. He had the perfect memory. It just sort of... got jumbled together if he allowed it to. He tended to prefer it that way - kept him from dealing with exact reruns.

Ryou was alive for the majority of those memories - suffering, but alive. How was it that the Pharaoh and his gaggle of fools hasn't seen it? Were they _blind_? Ryou had been fading by the day... and no matter how hollow Bakura made him become, no matter how many 'lessons' he taught... no one noticed Ryou change. No one.

))What the hell was wrong with the Pharaoh that he didn't even notice how fake you acted? He should have seen it... he should have come after me... banished me...(( Bakura's head bowed further, swallowing his face in a dark shadow. ))But... he did banish me, didn't he? Him and little Yugi... I just always came back... each time met with less and less resistence. You couldn't fight me anymore... not like before. In Duelist Kingdom... I had made sure... that it would never be an option for you again...((

_((You promised!))_

_Sitting with a tree stump between his opponent, none other than the newly-awakened Pharaoh, and himself, Bakura cackled inwardly - his smug smirk merely growing on the outside - at his host's feeble cries. Turning his attention inside their minds for the moment, he allowed the duel to fade into the background momentarily as the sharp eyes of his soul turned... and found the source of the noise._

_The pathetic mortal stood shakily between their two doors, staring down the corridor towards the yami with keen determination and a streak of anger written over his features... but there was also incredible fear. His limbs were shaking, though he was trying his best not to show it - not wanting to appear as weak as he was. It was a useless attempt. Ryou would always be but a sniveling fool._

_Bakura, standing at the edge of the corridors with merely one step out from full awareness to the outside world, smirked at the sight. Who did the boy think he was dealing with? "You shouldn't be so loud, little Ryou," the thief taunted cooly, the words nearly seeming to slide past his lips. "You'll make me __**annoyed**__."_

_Ryou couldn't help the hesitation he gave, but he wouldn't back off. Not now. The others were counting on him to stop this before everything got out of control! "You promised, Bakura."_

_A sharp grin suddenly cut the thief's features. "And I gather you think I'm breaking my word? Don't tarnish my name, boy... Thief's Honor, remember?"_

"_You swore you would leave them alone!" Ryou suddenly shouted, glaring at the spirit even as his frail form trembled. "It's the Pharaoh and Yugi you want, so leave the innocent out of it! Joey, Tristan, and Tea have done_ _**nothing**_ _to deserve what you're about to put them through! S-So... so be true to your word and let them go!"_

_The shot came fast and hard - only a mere blink in time - but it sent Ryou crumpling against the wall beside his yami's soulroom door with the fresh pain from a crushing fist in his cheek. It was fine though. Ryou would take whatever he had to at this point, he didn't care. Why would he? It was just another injury among the many - he had learnt to carry the burden of them. His entire soul was a mess of beaten flesh, cuts, and scars... what difference would another beating make? Nothing at all. In fact, he almost welcomed it. It may give the others the time they need to figure out how to escape..._

"_How is it..." that voice growled darkly, "that you find it in your place to give __**me**__ orders? Have you forgotten already who your soul__** belongs **__to?"_

_The boy shivered beneath the tone but, though his legs begged him to allow it, he refused to let himself shrink to the floor. Terror clawed at his mind as he took a shuddering breath, already knowing what he must look like: A frightened mouse; a broken bird. Pathetic. Weak. Useless. He'd already heard all of that before._

_But it couldn't be true._

_He'd survived this far, hadn't he?_

"_L-Let... l-let them g-go..." Ryou choked out, voice barely audible. "I p-promised... to do whatever y-you wanted. I... I promised t-to help d-de-defeat Yami. I've... I've kept my word." Desperate eyes rose, meeting that burning glare... and trying not to cower under it. "Please... keep yours."_

_A corner of his lips lifted. "Do you not __**trust**__ me, host? Such a shame... as I have been __**very**_ _true to my word, just as you have been thus far."_

_Anger sparked in that wearily glare. "You sealed their souls into __**cards**__!"_

_SLAP!_

_Bakura calmly lowered his hand with a sadistic grin on his lips - loving the sound the backhand made on his hikari's bruised skin. It was like listening to bells chime. "Do not raise your voice to me, vessel. Haven't we been through this already?" He seemed to pass over the subject entirely, picking up their previous one. "Incidently though, by sealing their souls into their favorite cards... have I not protected those little fools from the crushing weight of the Shadow Realm?" He chuckled darkly as Ryou's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Weak minded mortals... they would not have lasted a minute without the aid of Shadow Creatures. I gave them that relief, as per my deal with the likes of you, landlord."_

_Ryou's teeth gritted. "They'll all be killed. If the Pharaoh loses...!"_

"_What the Pharaoh does with his chosen army is of no concern to me." Bakura returned, slowly making his way back down the hallway to rejoin the waiting duel. "If the fool so chooses to sacrifice the lives of his host's friends in order to try and win, then that's no crime of mine... __**little Ryou**__." He paused just before the black void. "Enjoy the show, boy."_

_Then he was gone._

_Ryou stood trembling - not from fear this time though, but anger. Hands fisted tightly, the boy glared with fiery contempt at the image projected within the darkness at the end of the hall - the world through his own eyes... under the control of __**him**__. It wasn't right. The thief was just twisting everything around again! He was going to __**ruin**__ everything again! Ryou had just begun to settle into Domino, he's just begun to do well in school again... he'd just begun... to make some friends._

_An array of figurines filled the boy's mind, but he shook his head clear of the images. This wasn't going to turn out like that. He swore it wouldn't! Not this time! Not ever again!_

"This one is my favorite."

"The... Change of Heart card?"

_Ryou steeled his resolve, mentally preparing himself while__** Bakura **__was too busy with the duel to pay attention to him. ((They aren't the only ones connected to this game. I'll show you what your__** 'little host'**__ is capable of!))_

Vaguely aware of the door creaking open nearby, Bakura just braced himself for what he knew was coming next...

"_N-No, B-Bakura, pl-please! Please... s-stop! S-Stop, I... I'm s-sorry! P-Pl-Please...!"_

A shiver trailed down the thief's spine as a horrible scream from his memory tore forward, burning his mind as good as any fire. He remembered it all too clearly. It had been Ryou's hardest lesson in obedience. Bakura had returned from the Shadow Realm while the Pharaoh and mutt had been dueling the Paradox brothers, but, though Ryou was aware of his presence again, Bakura didn't do anything - just watched with a boiling temper. He barely made any communication with his host, letting him pretend he really was one of the gang... until Bakura had been forced to step in when Pegasus had turned his Shadow Magic on him. He'd dealt with the situation, throwing everyone back in their rooms, then he had returned to his own before heading back into his soulroom.

Then... Ryou had had the nerve to thank him for it.

Calling that night a 'beating' would be far too kind - Bakura had tortured Ryou within the boundaries of the boy's own mind. Every trick he knew, every method he had learnt over his long life, he used to his fullest advantage, dealing out far more than Ryou should have been able to take. Piece by piece, Bakura had unleashed a symphony of agony into the teen and had listened joyfully as Ryou screamed and begged for his life and death until his throat itself bled. He watched him cry blood, watched him wither and break before Bakura would claim to be done... making that fresh scream when the thief squeezed broken bones together thereafter all the more delicious. Then he'd begin with a new pitch of pain.

Blood had always stained his host's soulroom, but that night it had been coated in it.

After that, Ryou did as he was told.

"You're not very good at sneaking," Bakura informed coldly, not even looking up at his boss standing across from him.

Ed smirked, a single thumb hooked in the pocket of his jeans. "I wasn't sneaking," he assured, seemingly more relaxed now that he knew for sure he wasn't going to suddenly startle his gruff mechanic. "Look, Baku... I'm all for giving you time to think things over, but... that girl left over two hours ago. You haven't even moved a muscle."

Bakura lifted a frown to his boss, the question in his eyes reading 'two _hours_?' before he glanced over to the clock on the wall. ))How the hell...?((

Edward sighed, running his hand through his hair quickly before deciding it was still his turn to speak. "Baku, sitting in here isn't going to do you any good."

The thief stare returned to the garage owner. "Neither is sitting back at my place."

Ed smirked and, stepping forward, he slapped his hand onto his employee's shoulder. "Come on, you pain in the ass. That silver bullet still needs to get running... what do you say we _both _take a crack at it?"

Bakura couldn't help but smirk back, slightly amused by the suggestion. "Since when are you any good with modern cars?"

"...Shut up."

* * *

The rest of the day had spun by all too quickly as Bakura and Edward worked on the car until the typical closing time. The entire time, Ed had done his best to keep the sarcasm and jokes rolling in an effort to distract his employee's mind from drifting back into the day's events and - probably - past ones too. Whether anyone believed him or not, the man knew that his worker was actually a rather decent man beneath the 'I'll rip your head off' attitude problem - Bakura had just been broken. Ed didn't know when or how or why, but, somewhere along the road, the world had laid a multitude of beatings on the white haired jackass... and the injuries sustained had never healed. Perhaps they never would.

The world created Bakura.

Like the old saying goes: it takes a village to raise a child.

Ed, in all honesty, hoped to NEVER have the misfortune of meeting that 'village'.

However, no matter how much of a relief it was on the thief to have Ed as a distraction during the day, it only made the company of Bakura's own mind that much more grating when they had both taken their separate routes home at the day's end. It's not that he disliked what life he had... it was just... the past. It was ALWAYS the past. It hung over him like a blanket that only seemed to get heavier the longer he trudged on.

Yes, he liked the paper-thin walls of his apartment, he liked annoying his neighbours and how the hot water always ran out... the roughness kept him grounded. Besides, it was still the lap of luxury compared to what he'd grown up in. What he DIDN'T like was some wench coming after him all these years later, spewing all those questions... dragging a rusted hook through his past to open up old wounds.

Having been walking mindlessly through the familiar streets, Bakura blinked back to reality as he suddenly sensed open space around him - the park. The grass was browning from lack of water and the trees looked a little brittle, but it was the park... a place big enough in the middle of downtown to be able to get away from the concrete and pavement... and the noise. The noise alone was enough to drive him mad. But then you ask: Why stay? The question was simple, just as simple: Where would he go? He'd known this city for eight years, there was no reason to leave it just to start new again somewhere else. He didn't like change. After an eternity of never knowing what was going to happen, a little routine was good to bring his blood pressure down.

He slowly walked over to the small pond, leaning his arms on the railing as he watched the fish swim beneath the surface of the water. Life was so much simpler for them...

He growled at himself. ))Great, now I want to be a fucking fish. I should just commit myself and be damned with the whole thing already before my common sense collapses completely.(( His eyes narrowed upon a fish coming up to the surface close to him, its large mouth gaping at the surface. "What the hells are you staring at?" He snapped, not really thinking. "Don't mock me or I'll fry your ass."

Two more gapping mouths then the fish swam away, leaving a smirking Bakura behind. He swore the damn thing had just told him to 'fuck off'... either that or it was calling him an asshole.

He took a deep breath before letting it out again, his eyes lifting to the setting sun that he could barely see through the array of buildings. The sunlight had taken on a glorious orange colour, bathing everything in a strange light. It reminded him of the same light that had soaked the city the night that Ryou and he had taken off to enter in that night tournament... the night Bakura had killed him with his own foolishness.

How could he ever hope to fill Ryou's place in the world? There was a missing link in the chain, a piece that had snapped three years ago without anyone even noticing. Bakura wasn't his host. He couldn't even _understand_ the boy let alone _be _him. The boy that had saved him from the Shadow Realm; the boy that would hold open doors and carry things to stranger's cars for them; he'd been a rarity - a jewel amongst rocks. He hadn't belonged on this mortal plane and it was only when he disappeared that people realized how much he had lit up the dark. Everything just seem that much dimmer now.

_))What the hells are you doing?((_

_Ryou couldn't help but jump slightly at the demanding voice, only to then breathe a slight sigh - a soft smile taking his features - as his dark half emerged from him to stand as a ghost beside him. Bakura still looked like complete hell - beaten and weary - but the tomb robber somehow managed to keep that tense look to him, like he was about to get ambushed at any moment. The Brit did hope that eventually he would come to relax a bit... if only to let himself heal faster._

_Arms resting on the steel railing in front of him, Ryou didn't reply as his gaze turned lazily back to the wide open ocean that stretched into the far horizon where the sun was setting peacefully. The waves rolled in, crashing into the concrete platform that the boy had found himself on at the edge of the city. He really didn't even know how he got here, but it was almost as though something had wanted to show this one site to him before he left Domino for good in the morning._

_He had to admit: looking out over the ocean and watching the sunset in this lazy moment... the city didn't seem half-bad._

_Bakura frowned at his host. He knew the boy was a bit doped from all the migraine pills he'd been taking, but this was more than a little odd. ))...Do you... not wish to return to London?((_

_Ryou couldn't help but chuckle, surprising even himself with how at ease he felt inside. After all, he was still being possessed by the same short-tempered ancient tomb robber, but it just... felt different this time around. Bakura's attitude towards him felt different. Even now, Bakura had never been one to pick and choose his words but, for some reason, right now he was trying to... not that it suited him the slightest. The teen, however, just let it be, deciding that it was probably the thief's way of trying to be nice and say 'thanks, brat.' Ryou didn't need it though - he appreciated the fact that Bakura seemed appreciative of what he'd done. That in itself was more than enough._

_((Of course I want to return to London. It's my home, there's nothing for me anywhere else.)) Ryou responded contently, not once looking away from the scene depicted before him. ((...Isn't the sunset beautiful?))_

_A long pause was his answer for over a minute, then he heard Bakura growl. ))Fool, how many of those damn pills did you take?((_

_And, for the first time since they'd 'met', Ryou dared to roll his eyes at his yami. He never realized how freeing such a random reaction could be! ((Bakura, I'm not drugged up.))_

_))You're delirious.((_

_Ryou laughed a little, turning to the tense spirit beside him with one brow lifted in question. "Because of a sunset?" He asked out loud, thankful no one was around._

_Bakura growled through clenched teeth. ))Because of what you're asking about. What are you? A woman?((_

_((You're unbelievable. Haven't you ever watched the sunset?))_

_))Of course,(( he snapped far harsher than what he needed to. ))I __**am**__ from Egypt. The place is nothing but sun and sand.(( Cold eyes turned to the burning object, scowling, ))I was always glad to see it go. Darkness would coat the land, gifting the perfect cover for me to work. Mortals have always feared the night...(( He smirked, throwing his host a chilling look. ))...and the monsters that lived within it. It has always seemed like there is nothing more terrifying for you fools than the unknown.((_

_So much for watching his words._

_Ryou nodded slightly, unfazed despite the slight flip-flop in his stomach at just the sight of that sadistic little smirk. It was WAY too familiar. ((I can't deny that,)) he agreed. ((Humans have been known throughout history to try and destroy entire races of people simply because they were different than them and therefore couldn't understand them. The Human Zoos, the Witch's Hammer, the Ku Klux Klan, the concentration camps in World War Two... you can't exactly say that we're an understanding species. ...Still though.)) That unfaltering smile grew slightly. ((There's good in people. We just haven't had much practice using it.))_

_Bakura said nothing, turning his glare back out to the sunset. Finally, he'd had enough of the silence. ))What do you see in it that's so captivating then?((_

_((Well... what do you see when you look at it?))_

_))A burning orb.((_

_((Bakura, it's more than__** that**__. You just... have to look past the surface.)) Ryou sighed, content for the moment as he bathed in the last rays of sunlight. For the first time in years, a weight was lifted off of his shoulders and he felt relaxed all the way down into his soul. He didn't even notice his yami's stare snap to him, having felt the change from the boy's soulroom across to his own. ((It's... special.)) He finally added as an afterthought._

_Bakura blinked, his stare flipping from the orb then back to his host. ))...How?(( He was genuinely curious, to say the least. _

_Ryou chuckled, shaking his head. ((I don't know, it just is!)) Catching the odd look his other half gave him, he shrugged helplessly. ((It's... hard to explain. It sort of... changes from one person to another. You'll figure it out for yourself one day, Bakura. I'm sure of it.))_

Well, it wouldn't have been the first time Ryou was wrong about something. Bakura still saw the sun as a burning orb that used to betray him constantly in Egypt, letting the guards see him on his way out of a job or, even worse, revealing his white mane to superstitious eyes on the streets. That's as far as his thinking would ever take him... or maybe as far as he would let it take him.

Bakura sighed heavily, watching the sun sink out of sight to bring light somewhere else. The night closed in on the city around him and, just when he was nearly content beneath its ever-blackening blanket, he growled as the street lamps flickered on. He glared at the offending object - people were truly pathetic with how they feared the dark. There was nothing to fear... except perhaps the odd youth pulling a knife. In which case, the reaction is simple: beat the living crap out of them and steal _THEIR_ wallet. Back in Egypt, it took talent to be a successful thief, not like today. Then again, back then, _everyone _carried one form of blade or another, so waving around some little pick-stick wouldn't do much.

Having had enough of the illuminating city, Bakura forgot about getting something to eat and quickly made his way home instead - letting himself into his apartment and thankful for the darkness that greeted him. Heavy curtains drawn shut, the room was practically a black abyss, but he loved it. The darkness made him feel relaxed, stilling his mind from its repetitive circles to let him rest for the next day. He supposed that there was little that he would ever truly change about his habits - they'd been part of survival in Egypt, but now they just felt right. Ryou had been the only light that he came to not mind being in the presence of.

Even now, Bakura knew that the first thing his hikari would do upon entering the thief's home would be to push back the curtains... and then maybe clean up a bit.

He didn't bother eating or watching some TV, nor did he turn on the radio. Bakura just laid on his bed in the darkness, only getting up to shower before returning to his bed. His thoughts kept him awake, replaying the day over and over again... which, of course, lead him on to think of times buried even deeper in his past. Hours ticked away into the night and Bakura was quite thankful when, finally, he was claimed by sleep.

Even his nightmares felt bearable when compared to the pain of reality at this point.

It wasn't until deep into the night that something sent the thief's hairs on end as his slept, his instincts screaming out to gather his mind... and Bakura bolted upright, the blade that lived beneath his pillow lashing out in a flash of gleaming steel. He growled, muscles on fire as he scanned his dark room carefully... because he knew someone was here with him. He could feel it right down to his core.

To prove their own intelligence, the being didn't wait for the thief to decide whether or not to kill first and ask questions later. A deep voice rose from the door, calm and collected. "Thief King Bakura... you always have given me the warmest of greetings."

The spirit snarled - he knew that voice. "Well, well, well... if it isn't my favorite spineless goon." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rose to his feet, always looking in precise control of every muscle in his body as he stood tall and confident in the darkness of his apartment. His eyes narrowed upon the figure across from him, noting a briefcase in his hand but nothing more that he could see. "Do you often have suicidal tendencies, fool? The simple act of knocking may lengthen your life considerably in the future."

Short, brown hair dashed with salt and pepper, the man lowered his head in respect. His words were tilted by a distinct German accent, "I will remember that. However, I do believe this to be a step up in comparison to the knife you held to my throat in our last encounter."

"Don't speak too soon, Volker."

"Quite. I trust I am not intruding on anything in particular?"

Bakura growled, "you broke into my home in the middle of the night, how the hells _isn't_ that intruding? You're lucky you're not dead."

The man's grey gaze matched Bakura's in full confidence. "But this is not your home, Thief King."

Cold eyes narrowed. "Just name your business and get the hell out."

"Very well." Lifting up his briefcase, he set it on the kitchen counter that seemed to try to separate the kitchen at the front of the apartment from everything else in the back. "My Master sends a gift."

"Really? It's not even my birthday either." He scowled, not impressed. "Does your 'master' even have a name? Or should I just refer to him as the fucker who doesn't have the balls to come see me himself?"

He didn't even bat an eye. "My master will make himself known when he feels the time is right."

Surprisingly, Bakura smirked, chuckling to himself almost softly... and that smirk only grew when Volker tensed. "I've been tolerant enough with you and your fool of a master - whoever he is. I don't like being disturbed and, more than that, I_ hate_ people knowing more about me than what I know of them. So far, you've all be testing my patience and, unfortunately for the likes of you, it's about to wear through. What _exactly_ do you fools want with me? And, better yet, how did you even find out about me?"

He seemed to contemplate something for a brief moment, studying the thief carefully before daring to speak, "...we were expecting you to be bothered with such, so my master sent this gift for me to deliver to show good faith."

"Not good enough," the thief snarled, stepping closer. "Either I get answers or you get tortured. Shall we flip a coin?"

The older man sighed silently, shoulders lowering ever so slightly from their usual stiffness. "...We merely desire your cooperation."

"With what?"

"There are... several pieces of my masters plan in which your... particular skills and knowledge would be of great value to him," he said, choosing his words carefully. "We are prepared... to offer something that you lost several years ago."

))My dignity?(( Bakura's eyes narrowed cuttingly. "And what is that?"

"_I'm a thief and stealer of souls."_

Stone grey eyes narrowed against hazel. "The Millennium Ring."

"_Let the destruction commence."_

Bakura blinked, his entire demeanor shifting all at once as he made sure he had heard right... only to burst out laughing. "You fool! You actually think your pitiful little master would be able to make such a find? The Millennium Items fell into the void with the passing of the Pharaoh - each one of them cast into the darkness to never again see the light of the day. They're all lost."

"_Come on, it's a game! You should try to have some fun!"_

"Things only become lost so they may be found again." Responded the man evenly and, opening up his briefcase, he, ever so carefully, lifted an item from its depths.

"_I'll paint the palace walls with your __**blood**__."_

An all too familiar jingling touching the still air of the apartment, the ancient artifact was held up by its rope with the utmost of respect - its eye already locked on the thief who froze before it. Its golden surface gleamed though no light touched it, its ancient call radiating off of its form to stretch out towards the one it demanded to be held by. A dark pressure weighed onto Bakura's shoulders, willing him to give in as he found his gaze locked on what had been his prison... and his power. He couldn't move under its gaze. It was waiting for him... always him...

"_With a new hand comes a whole new perspective. The game... ever shifting. New dangers surround every turn."_

"This belongs to you, as always."

"_Can the guardians come out to play?"_

Bakura, despite himself, took a step forward... only to force himself to stop, shying back like an animal would from an all too easy find - a trap. His muscles burned, his mind raced off in a tangent... and yet he still couldn't pull his eyes away. He'd lost the Ring years ago. It had fallen into the abyss below the Millennium Stone... it shouldn't have survived... it shouldn't... have survived...

"_The M-Memory World w-was your Game... and y-you screwed it up." _

Volker slowly placed the Item on the counter, breaking its gaze, before closing his briefcase and bringing it back to hang at his side once more. "We will be in touch," he informed, not flinching as a haunted stare met his own. The suit seemed to almost leave, only to hesitate. "...And, Bakura..." His brow furrowed deeper. "...Tread carefully. You are worth more than you know... both alive and dead." Then he turned and slipped out of the apartment, closing the door quietly behind him.

"_Who would have thought you had a heart... let alone one so easily broken."_

A shiver trailed down Bakura's spine, its chill shaking him to the bone as he practically fell backwards, only kept up by the wall. He closed his eyes to the world, but it didn't do any good... he could _feel_ the pull on his soul... and it was so _close_. The Ring wanted him, needed him... desired him and him alone. He was the only one - or, at least, the one best suited - that it would accept - the one it demanded. He heard a soft whisper amongst the shouts of thousands of years worth of memories, a soft promise... of all the power in the world. It told of such wonderful things...

"_Your whole life is a puzzle wrapped in a game."_

...of saving his people... he could still hear their screams...

"_You can regret your foolishness in Hell!"_

...of seeing Ryou again... if only once more...

"_Don't you realize that I __**am**__ the darkness?"_

...of changing the world... destroying this place of cruelty to make way for a far better future...

"_You do remember the legends, don't you?"_

...of revenge... finally making the pain go away...

Then, a different voice, _"m-my arm__...__ it... hurts__...__"_

Bakura hissed, his hand whipping up, covering an almost-faded scar on his left arm. He pressed his eyes shut tighter, clenching his teeth as tight as he could in a desperate attempt to force the voices to stop. He let loose a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, quelling the fire that had been scorching his lungs into ashes as his legs became too weak to support him any longer and he slowly slid down the wall beside the window. He shuddered, the heartbeat of the Item across the room echoing across the space to where he sat, each second cutting into his very soul.

"_Somebody__...__ p-please__...__ I__...__ I don't feel w-well at all__...__ I n-need to lie down and get some rest__...__ please__...__"_

He curled his legs into his chest as another shiver drove through him, chilling him to his core.

))R-Ryou... where do I go from here?((

* * *

Alright, Chapter Two. Hope everyone enjoyed it. I think I'm getting the hang of Tea now... maybe? I don't know... so tell me what you think!


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